Many people are familiar with the variety of discounts and savings available for car insurance. For example, student drivers who have good report cards can get discounts, and people who install anti-theft devices in their cars can qualify for major savings. What a lot of people don’t realize is that car insurance isn’t the only type of insurance that has plenty of savings just waiting to be discovered.

If you have been with the same insurance broker for a long time and haven’t bothered to look at other home insurance policies for years, then you definitely need to shop around. Who knows what new deals have materialized since you last checked? For consumers of insurance products, complacency tends to be expensive.

One standard way to cut down on your insurance premiums is to carry a deductible that is higher than usual. A deductible is the amount you are required to pay before your insurance kicks in. Standard home insurance deductibles tend to run around $500. $500 is such a small amount in the grand scheme of things – raise the deductible, pocket the extra cash and throw a couple extra bucks in the emergency kitty just in case.

If you purchase home insurance and car insurance together from the same company, you will probably be eligible for a discount. Also, if all the people who live in your home are non-smokers, you may be able to get an additional discount. Retirees can get discounts and so can people who live in homes that were built within the past 10 years. Home insurance companies love it when people have completely paid off their mortgages, and they love people who haven’t filed an insurance claim within the past 5 years even more. Some companies will allow you to pay less if you pay your entire yearly premium upfront instead of every month as usual.

Some people pay extra for their home insurance in order to insure specific items. If you are doing this, make sure that the items you are insuring haven’t depreciated in value. If the items have, then you can reduce the amount of coverage to reflect the new lower value and save money. Making your house more disaster resistant will reduce your insurance premiums – ask your insurance agent what they recommend you should do. Examples of things they may suggest include adding storm shutters, modernizing your heating and retrofitting your house to withstand earthquakes better.

You can also try to go the route of improving the security of your home. Typically companies will offer a 5 percent reduction if you install a dead-bolt lock. Before you rush to install a pricey burglar alarm that will call the police when tripped, ask your insurance company if they will give you a discount – not all insurance companies will provide discounts for the sophisticated and expensive systems. Rather, ask your insurance company what security systems they recommend and go with those.

LifeCover is a website about life insurance. If you’re shopping for life insurance then it is a good place to start your search.