How to Save Money on Insurance for Santa Cruz CA Homes

When buying a home, whether Santa Cruz CA home or a home anywhere else in the world, there are a host of other factors and costs you will need to consider, that will affect your monthly costs. Insurance is certainly one of those.

If you own a Santa Cruz CA home, or a home anywhere else, you can use the following tips to lower your monthly insurance premiums.

• Have a look at security. Santa Cruz CA homes, like any other, may be broken into. Check the security measures on your house, and consider adding items like burglar proofing, burglar alarms, infra red beams or perimeter security. Most insurers offer rebates on premiums, based on the security measures you have.
• Shop around. Insurance premiums can fluctuate wildly from one insurer to another.
• If you've been with your insurer for a while, don't assume you're getting the best deal. Insurers, as a rule of thumb, increase premiums across the board, regardless of whether your risk has increased, at least once a year. Call a few competing companies, and if they're offering a better deal, negotiate with your insurer. If they won't budge, switch! Although most insurance companies will give you a better deal, particularly if you are a loyal client.
• Find out how much you can save by having more than one product with a particular insurer. For instance, if you insure your home, vehicles and take a life insurance policy with a single company, you may find you get a better deal than having individual products with different companies.
• Read the fine print. There's no use getting what you think is a great deal, only to find, at crunch time, when you need to claim, that there are more exclusions than inclusions in your policy. If your Santa Cruz CA home gets broken into, for instance, and you aren't able to claim via a technicality, you'll end up fuming.
• Before you buy Santa Cruz CA home, find out what the crime rate, and average insurance premium for the area that interests you is. Often, the suburb you live in can have a big impact on the premium you pay, and if you haven't budgeted for it in your monthly payments for your Santa Cruz CA home, you may be in for a nasty surprise! You could even call an insurance company or two for a quote, to find out what you're likely to be looking at.

Insurance is, at best, a grudge purchase. It's something we purchase because we have to, not because we want to.

When looking for insurance on your Santa Cruz CA home, be sure to follow the above mentioned tips, look online for great deals or websites that offer insurance comparisons, and make your choice based on price and service.

If you have friends who own Santa Cruz CA homes, (available at propertyinsantacruz.com and cacoastalhome.com ) finding out who they insure with can help you make an informed decision, and if they're willing to give a particular company a referral, there's probably a reason!

Gregg Rio is an experienced Santa Cruz real estate broker. If you want to search for Santa Cruz homes or find out where is the most energy efficient homes in Santa Cruz, go to propertyinsantacruz.com and find yourself a great home by the beach.