Monday, December 07, 2009
There are quite a lot of ads from home insurance companies telling you that you can save money with them. In most cases, you'll find that perhaps only a few homeowners will save with their system … and you might not be one of the chosen few. There's been a bit of a revolution with a particular home insurance company lately, that is helping many homeowners save on their insurance. If you don't live near water, that could be you! Read on to find out why…
Why traditional insurers may make you pay for other people's insurance
Individual circumstances vary from house to house, street to street, suburb to suburb, and state to state. Unfortunately, most big home insurers lump everyone in a suburb together … and at worst, everyone in a particular section of a city or country region together, assuming that they all have similar environmental risks. Living near water is one of these environmental risks that many insurers may distribute the insurance cost between all of their home insurance policy holders. So you're paying for someone else to have the convenience of easy waterskiing or surfing! Good insurers will base your premium on your individual case, not on the circumstances of those around you.
Standard house insurance questions
When you go for a home insurance policy, you'll probably be asked questions like:
- What is your postcode?
- When was the home built?
- What are the building and roof made from?
- Does it have a carport?
- Do you have a tennis court, external spa, in-ground pool, granny flat, or anything other than a standard backyard?
- Have you held any previous insurance policies, and have you made any claims on them?
- Do you have external door locks, window locks, or wire window screens?
One of the main determinants of your home insurance premium pricing from this list is your postcode and your insurance history.
Insurance questions that can save you money
Insurance questionnaires can be painful, we know. But we also believe that an extra day or so spent working to cover a higher insurance premium is much more painful!
Think about how much the environment varies for different homes in your postcode. You may have an area next to large dry farming paddocks or areas of untended bush, where the fire risk is higher. There may be areas next to rivers canals or tributaries. There may even be beachfront homes in the same area, that are subject to erosion. Some suburbs or streets mayl be more prone to crime, as they are closer to commercial areas or have high numbers of past crime claims. So, good home insurers will ask you about these factors when they are calculating your premium:
Do you live near a pokie venue/canal/ocean/bush or forest/shopping centre/railway station/secondary school or adjacent to open land?
Are there any trees within 20 meters of your building in excess of 2 storeys high?
How many dogs in excess of 10kg do you have on the premises?
Do all your immediate neighbours know you by first name?
Do you have any gas appliances at the property?
You can see how the answers to these questions could make your home more or less secure ... and increase or decrease your premium accordingly. And if your insurer doesn’t ask you these questions, they are making assumptions ... these assumptions may inevitably cost you money on your home and contents insurance.