You may not have realized that installing new windows can affect your home insurance rates significantly. In fact, there are quite a few common home upgrades that may have a positive effect in helping to lower your home insurance rates.
Even though you may be partial to some of the older features in your home, finding out what ones are causing you to pay more in upkeep and insurance is important to establishing and staying in on a home budget. The good news is, it is not hard to find ways to eliminate some additional premiums in regards to your home insurance rates. Let’s take a look at some simple home renovations that can not only make your home safer and more secure, but save you a lot of money over the long run.
How New Windows Affect Your Home Insurance Rates
There are few homeowners who wouldn’t want to pay a lower monthly premium for their home insurance rates. In reality, you most likely already have some wiggle room in those monthly prices. If your home is in need of any updating, you might notice that with these changes, your monthly home insurance rate premium will start to go down.
Why do new windows affect your home insurance rates?
We live in an area with heavy storms, severe weather, and annual hurricane threats. South Florida weather can wreak quite a bit of property damage, and therefore Port Charlotte and Englewood area residents see that risk reflected in their home insurance premiums. For nearly every homeowner, making sure your home has storm-resistant windows that are up to current hurricane code. This single renovation lowers the chances that you will sustain major damage due to storms, and therefore almost always lowers your home insurance rates quite a bit. And if you think the prospect of saving money while protecting your home sounds good, we’d like to offer some ideas on other home improvements which are also likely to lower your risk portfolio and drive your premiums down.
- Installing a new roof.
If your roof is old, your home insurance policy will probably not cover the cost of replacing it. However, an old roof is one of the most significant contributors to high insurance premiums. Roofing that is old or damaged can cause a myriad of structural problems – from water damage in your ceilings to dangerous mold in your attic. A new roof functions as a strong line of defense to protect the rest of your home from leaks or other types of issues – and your insurance company will typically reward your investment by lowering your rates. - Investing in hurricane shutters.
No one who lives in this region is safe from hurricane damage – that is just a fact of life. Hurricane shutters help lower your insurance premium by reducing the risk of that damage being severe and costly. Hurricane protection comes in a variety of types, from film which adheres to your windows to full electronic roll-down shutters which cover every door and window. When considering which protection fits your budget, be sure to check how it will also affect your premiums.
The most important thing to remember is that any type of update or home renovation should be reported to your home insurance company. A simple phone call to inform them of the changes can result in a meaningful reduction in your monthly premium.
Ezzi Insurance Advisors is here to help you to assess your current coverage, and to identify areas where you can reduce coverage and save money, or increase your coverage if it is lacking to cover your needs. Our goal is an educated insurance client – call us today!
