When it comes to homeowners insurance, you want to make sure to get enough coverage to properly protect your home. But you also don’t want to have to pay more for your coverage than you have to. With the current average annual cost of homeowners insurance sitting at around $2,110 per year for $300,000 of dwelling coverage, it makes sense to seek as many savings as you can.
Fortunately, homeowners insurance discounts are not only common, but widely available. An independent insurance agent can help you find the discounts that you best qualify for. Here’s an overview of a few of the best home insurance discounts available today.
What Are Home Insurance Discounts?
When you insure your home, you're signing up to pay premiums — either monthly, quarterly, or yearly payments that may be rolled into your mortgage — in exchange for coverage. If your home gets damaged, your insurance company promises to pay as long as certain conditions are met.
Quite simply, home insurance discounts lower those premium payments, typically because your home or household in some way presents a decreased risk for filing claims.
What Are the Best Homeowners Insurance Discounts?
When it comes to discounts on insurance for your house, it all boils down to certain risk factors that can be minimized by your home's unique qualities or your lifestyle. In exchange for undertaking certain safety measures, belonging to certain groups, or other factors about your property that reduce your risk for property damage, the insurance company may reduce your policy's premiums.
Insurance companies’ four major concerns for homes are fire damage, water damage, theft, and hail damage. A good rule of thumb to start with is that if you’ve taken extra measures to prevent these perils, you may be eligible for a discount.
Most common homeowners insurance discounts
Here are some of the most common home insurance discounts you'll find:
| Discount | Description |
|---|---|
| Multipolicy/bundling home and auto discount | You can save up to a 25% discount by buying multiple policies from the same insurance company. Significant savings are typically offered for bundling home and auto policies. |
| Home security system discount | Receive a discount if your home has security features like a burglar alarm or monitored security system. |
| Smart home discount | Save on your premiums if your home has smart features like video doorbells, smart locks, and others. |
| Loyalty discount | Your insurance company may provide a discount after you’ve renewed your policy with them for a certain number of years. |
| Claims-free discount | You may receive a discount if you haven’t filed a home insurance claim in a certain number of years, typically 3 – 5 years. |
| Paperless discount | Qualify for a discount if you agree to receive paperless statements and other communication from your insurance company. |
| Gated community discount | Living in a gated community provides extra security and may make you eligible for a discount. |
| New roof discount | Upgrading to hail-resistant shingles can lead to significant discounts, especially in hail-prone areas. |
| Fire alarm discount | If your home is built with certain fire-resistant materials and has sprinklers, fire extinguishers, or a monitored fire alarm, you could receive a home insurance discount. |
Keep in mind that this list is not exhaustive, and it may not apply to everyone in each situation. What's more, the amount of the discount and whether or not an insurance company offers it all will vary. Your independent insurance agent can help you exhaust all of your discount opportunities.
Additional home insurance discounts
There are many more discounts available, depending on your insurance company. Ask your independent insurance agent about the following:
| Discount | Description |
|---|---|
| Senior discount | Some insurance companies offer discounts to senior citizens or retirees. |
| Occupational discount | People in certain occupations, such as teachers or certain public servants, may receive a home insurance discount. |
| Military discount | Active duty or retired military members often receive discounts on home insurance. |
| Payment discounts | You might be eligible for a discount if you pay your home insurance premiums on time or with a certain payment method, such as automatic payments. |
| Early quote discount | Some carriers offer discounts to people who seek out quotes in advance of their renewal dates. |
| New home discount | New homes often include the latest safety and security features, making many of them eligible for discounted home insurance. |
| Union or professional association discount | Professional organizations and unions often offer insurance discounts to their members. Ask your rep for details. |
An independent insurance agent can help you find more ways to save on your home insurance, even if you don't qualify for discounts. Things like choosing a higher deductible and not having attractive nuisances like pools or trampolines can help keep your premiums down.
How Much Are These Common Discounts Actually Worth?
The value of these common discounts varies quite a bit from company to company and for different types of policies. Not every insurance company offers the same discounts or the same discount amounts. What's more, the qualifications for a particular discount may vary, too.
You can assume that for many of the most popular discounts, you could save from 10%-25% on your home insurance premium. Lesser-known discounts may only drop your premiums by 2%-5%.
Are Some Home Insurance Discounts Only Available in Certain Areas?
The availability of certain discounts does depend on the area. Discounts offered in one town or state may be similar to another or may be completely different. Unfortunately, there’s no master list of discounts available everywhere. It depends on what makes sense for the specific area. For example, various weather-related home insurance discounts would apply to Minnesota residents but not to Florida residents since the states’ weather conditions are so different.
Crime rates are another factor that influences discounts available in a certain area. In areas at higher risk for crime, adding security features to your home or moving to a gated neighborhood will have a much more significant impact than if you purchase a home in an area that’s already determined to be fairly safe. And purchasing a home in a safer area is likely to help you more with your premiums in the first place.
How Do I Get Home Insurance Discounts?
Working with an independent insurance agent is a great way to score more discounts on your home insurance. But there are also other things you can do to earn discounts, such as making your home safer or updating its plumbing or electrical systems.
Elements that influence your discount eligibility
| Element | Details |
|---|---|
| Fire risk | Low fire risk equals lower premiums. This depends on the materials used to build your home, fire safety measures like sprinklers and extinguishers, and how quickly firefighters can respond. |
| Crime risk | Living in a low-crime area and/or installing a security system makes you and your belongings safer, allowing insurance companies to lower your premiums. |
| Location | Different states have varying insurance requirements and risks, impacting premiums based on access to emergency services like police and firefighters. |
| Natural disaster risk | The risk of various natural disasters (e.g., earthquakes, hurricanes) affects your home insurance quote. Areas prone to these risks typically face higher insurance costs. |
| Replacement cost of the home | Insurance costs are based on how much it would take to replace your home, not what you paid for it. Factors include: Unique or expensive materials: Priceless features can lead to higher replacement costs and premiums. Special features: Extras like saunas or pools increase replacement costs and can raise premiums due to higher injury risks. |
An independent insurance agent can further explain which factors influence your home insurance rates.
Which Carriers Offer the Most Homeowners Insurance Discounts?
While many homeowners insurance discounts exist, there’s no guarantee that one specific carrier will offer all or even some of them. Discounts are highly subjective to the area you live in, as well as a number of other factors.
While working with an independent insurance agent is by far the best way to get a policy that has the best possible discounts for you, here are a handful of well-known homeowners insurance companies known to offer generous discounts:
| Carrier | Details |
|---|---|
| USAA Insurance Companies | Known for offering bundling discounts, protective device credits (i.e., if you install security alarms, etc.), claims-free discounts, and more, USAA is one of the top-rated homeowners insurance companies. |
| MetLife Insurance | Offering bundling discounts, protective device/safety discounts, and employer group discounts in certain scenarios, MetLife ranks among the top homeowners insurance carriers. |
| Allstate Insurance | Their claims-free discount offers customers up to a 20% break on premiums when switching to Allstate from another carrier without a recent claim. Allstate also offers welcome and loyalty discounts of up to 10%, and retired seniors aged 55 and over are eligible for their own discount. |
One of the top perks of working with an independent insurance agent is that they do the shopping for you. They’ll help you get a policy from a carrier that not only caters to your coverage needs but that also gives you the best rate, including any discounts for which you're eligible.
How Can an Independent Insurance Agent Help You Get the Best Homeowners Insurance?
Independent insurance agents stay on top of industry trends and all the latest discounts, so you don’t have to. That means they’ll help you find the right homeowners insurance coverage at the right price for your needs and budget.
They’re not just there at the beginning, either. If you need to file a claim, they’ll be with you every step of the way.
