Canadians will pay more for their home insurance this year
regardless of whether they have made a claim or not. There are several reasons why your premiums
will go up; but the main one is because your local home insurance provider is
part of the worldwide market. This means
disasters across Canada and around the world affect your policy rates.
Tips to Keep your Premiums Down:
Don’t over insure your house. When you purchased your home, you paid for
the house and the lot. You should only
insure the cost to rebuild your home, not what you paid for it.
Increase your deductible.
The standard deductable on most home policies is $500, the easiest way
to save money is by increasing it to $1000 or $2500.
Install a Burglar alarm.
All insurance providers will give you a discount if you have an alarm
system installed, activated and monitored.
Shop around for better rates. Do some comparison shopping on-line, just
because you have pooled your auto and home insurance together doesn’t mean you
are getting the best deal.
Look for an interest-free monthly payment plan. Almost all providers offer monthly payment
plans, but many charge outrageous interest rates for the privilege, find one
that doesn’t.
Personalize your policy.
Many insurance policies include $6000 coverage for fur coats and $5000
for gold bullion, if you don’t own either why pay for them? Find a provider that will let you personalize
your policy and only cover what you need.
Forget small claims.
You have the right to claim for losses no matter what the size, but most
policies will offer up to a 20% discount to be ‘claims free’. Do the math; it might not be worth it.
Install a backwater valve.
These devices prevent water backing up from the city sewer system and
can be purchased and installed for around $1000. Many cities offer a rebate and insurance
providers may offer discounts once installed.
Hope you find these tips and ideas helpful, feel free to
pass them along to your friends.
Have a great weekend,
Tracey
Source: Advisor.ca,
original article posted 02-05-14 by staff.
Note: All insurance and segregated fund transactions are
provided through Hub Financial. Any
information in the enclosed note is provided by Tracey Marshall who is a
registered insurance agent under the Financial Services Commission of
Ontario. Hub Financial is not affiliated
or related to Security Financial Services.