25 ways to cut your home insurance

Robert Powell rounds up 25 ways to cut your home insurance premiums...

Home insurance premiums are still rising, according to the latest figures from the AA.

The firm's British Insurance Premium Index found that the average cost of contents cover has jumped 5.8% over the past year. And the situation is even worse with buildings insurance, with the cost hitting its highest ever level, having increased more than 14% in a year.

However, there are ways to stem the tide and keep your spend on home insurance cover to minimum.

1) Shop around

Shopping around thoroughly for your policy can trim as much as 30% from your premiums. Head over to our home insurance calculator to find all the best rates.

2) Keep switching

Loyalty doesn’t pay when it comes to home insurance. Make a note in your diary to start gathering new quotes around six weeks before your existing policy is up for renewal.

3) Haggle!

If your current provider’s renewal premium is pricier than other quotes – ask them to drop the price!

4) Increase your excess

The higher the excess, the cheaper your premium should be.

5) Avoid trivial claims

Claims will bump up your premiums, while having a clean home insurance sheet could slash 20% from your payments. So it may be cheaper in the long run to cover the costs of minor accidents yourself, rather than claiming off your insurance.

6) Don’t pay in instalments

If you can afford it, it will usually be cheaper to pay your insurance in one lump sum. A good way to do this is to make sure you...

7) ...pay using a 0% card

If you haven’t got the cash up front to pay for your home insurance, use a zero interest purchase card. This will allow you to spread the repayments over a number of months at no extra cost. The market leading card in the category at the moment is Tesco’s Clubcard MasterCard, offering a whopping 15 months at 0%.

Alternatively, you could use a cashback credit card to fund your policy and earn money back off your insurance. But make sure you clear off the whole balance straight away or the credit card interest will outweigh any cashback.

8) Check out joint policies

Home insurance comes in two forms:

• contents cover, for damage or theft of your possessions, and
• building insurance, for damage to the fabric or structure of your building.

Getting both policies from one provider will occasionally offer you a saving; but not always, so make sure you shop around for separate deals as well.

9) Insure for an accurate amount

When it comes to contents cover, make sure you insure for everything in your house; carpets, curtains, clothes, TVs – everything! While it’s certainly better to be overinsured than underinsured, there’s no point in shelling out for cover you don’t need.

10) Trim off extras

Avoid paying for add-on’s you don’t really need – such as home emergency, legal expenses and ID theft protection, which we think is a rip-off. Accidental damage is also usually an optional extra. If you’re sure you can survive without it, save your pennies!

11) Use your no claims discount

If you’ve got it, use it! Make sure you tell new providers about any no claims discount you have built up.

12) Don’t go straight for a mortgage provider policy

Mortgage providers will almost always try and bundle in an insurance policy with your home loan. Don’t go straight for this policy; make sure you shop around – as you’ll probably find a cheaper deal.

13) Buy online

The best home insurance rates will usually be available online.

14) Take out several policies

Obviously you should always shop around fully for any cover policy; be it car, travel or life insurance. But it is still worth checking with your home insurance provider if they will offer any discount if you take out multiple policies with them.

15) Expand your search

You can compare prices on home insurance comparison sites like lovemoney.com, as well as going direct to providers. It's usually worth doing both.

16) Only insure for the rebuild value

The rebuild value of your home is the amount it would cost in labour, materials and other fees to rebuild your property from scratch. Make sure you insure for this amount and not the market value, which is likely to be a higher amount.

17) Fit a burglar alarm

Protecting your home with a burglar alarm will knock pounds off your premiums.

18) Link your alarm to the police network

You could save even more if you link your alarm to the local police network.

19) Smoke alarms

You need them and insurers like them: ‘nuff said!

20) Use high quality locks

Reducing the risk of break-ins by using strong locks will also bring down your insurance costs. But don’t lie about what locks you use when you take out a policy. Otherwise, you could find your claim voided if you are broken into.

21) Use security lights

Installing outside security lights will light up any prospective thieves and alert you and your neighbours to any criminal activity. With a bit of luck this will reduce the likelihood of you being broken into, bringing down your claim numbers and hence your premiums.

22) Don’t advertise your possessions

Common sense really! Don’t leave your new, pricey laptop in the front window in full view for any passing thief.

23) Be careful online

You may feel the need to boast online about an upcoming holiday or weekend away. But remember, you never know who’s watching your personal online feed. And for a burglar, a two week holiday is nothing but a two week opportunity to pay an unwelcome visit to your home. Similarly, never post your address, postcode or phone number on social networking sites.

24) Timer switches

If you are heading off on holiday for a lengthy amount of time, using timer switches to turn lights on and off can give the impression that someone is in and deter thieves.

25) Be honest

If you tell porkies when you take out a policy – and your provider finds out (and they often do!) – you can kiss any successful claim goodbye.

Don’t lie – it’s really as simple as that!

More: Compare policies using our home insurance calculator | Halve the cost of your home insurance | Burglaries are up 14% on 2010