4 ways to reduce your home insurance premium

As the age-old saying goes, you should always expect the unexpected. Insurance is an important part of protecting your family, your home and your possessions – it’s a way to help make sure you’re as prepared as possible for the unexpected.

But if you’re looking to free up some cash, there are some ways you could help reduce your insurance premium.

1.  Consider a higher excess

The excess is the amount you’ll have to pay when the insurance company agrees to pay your claim. If your excess is $500, for example, and you choose to increase it to $1,000, your insurance premiums will likely decrease but you'll have to pay more should you have a claim accepted.

Speak to your insurer to see how much an increase in excess would impact your premium to help decide if this option suits you. You need to be sure you can afford the excess if the unexpected does happen.

2.  Review the contents listed

The value of your insured items may have changed since you took out your policy. List out all the items to make sure you have an accurate estimation. There are online calculators available to help so you don’t end up overestimating or underestimating your insured amount. If you’ve overestimated, reducing the sum insured may reduce your premium.

3.  Combine policies

Some insurers offer discounts when you combine different covers under the one insurance policy. For example, if you have building and contents cover on the one policy you may be eligible for a combined policy discount. Speak to your insurer to see if they can offer you a deal for combining cover.

4.  Do your research

Different insurers have different offerings, so it’s important to be familiar with what’s available in the market and make sure you have the policy that’s best suited to your needs. Thinking about what events you want to be covered for and the amount of cover you’ll need should one of these events occur, can help you narrow down your options.