Keep your homeowners insurance current with your needs.
You may be content with your homeowners insurance premium, until you learn that your neighbor is paying half of what you do. You don’t understand it: you’re in the same location, you both have a 2-story home, and John across the road has a relatively similar credit score.
When calculating homeowners insurance rates, insurers look at more than just your home’s value, location, and your credit score.
Here are the top 5 influencing factors:
The property’s age and construction.
A new home’s structure is likely to be in better shape than an older home’s. With a solid structure and new and improved systems, the likelihood of fire, electrical, and plumbing problems are reduced.
Location, location, location!
Rates for your home may be higher if:
- The home is located in a wildfire, tornado, or other natural disaster-prone area
- The neighborhood or town faces high-crime
- Building costs in the area are high
- There is no fire station in a 5-mile radius
Risky features.
If you own a swimming pool, hot tub, trampoline, have a guest house or an ‘aggressive’ breed of dog, the risk of filing a liability claim can increase. With a higher risk of injuries, and therefore claims, your premium inflates.
Filed insurance claims.
The more claims you have, the higher your perceived risk to insurers. This can not only lead to higher premiums but also the risk your insurer dropping your coverage or not renewing your policy.
Your credit score.
The higher a homeowner’s credit score, the lower their risk level. As a result, they are offered cheaper homeowners insurance rates.
It’s incredibly important to review your insurance coverage on a regular basis so that you can be sure that your protection keeps pace with the cost of your home. While this could lead to higher premiums, it helps you to be more adequately insured and less vulnerable to high out-of-pocket expenses.
When looking for the best homeowners insurance policy, there are some factors that you cannot change (location), and some you can (getting rid of the pool). For your homeowners insurance coverage, contact AimPro Insurance today, serving Phoenix and neighboring cities in Arizona.
