Milwaukee home insurance users are always looking for new methods to protect their homes and lower their premiums, but most of them stop at the basic smoke detector, security system or home and vehicle joint insurance discount.
Still, there are always useful and effective ways to preserve your most valued possessions, save yourself some money and even receive some well-deserved credit from your insurance company.
“Mitigating loss is a big part of who we are and what we do” says Sean Meehan, second vice-president of property strategy for a Milwaukee home insurance company. “We pay claims, but at the same time we want to help prevent them”.
For example, living in a gated community can provide not only an extra layer of security between your house and potential invaders, but also a peace of mind which can be hard to find these days. And home insurance companies happily share that peace of mind, even willing to credit you for lessening the risk.
“In the larger scheme, where you live will always affect the rates you pay”, says Meehan. “If you live in a gated community, that definitely falls under loss mitigation”.
New wiring is another way you can avoid bigger risks while scoring some credit with your insurance provider. “It’s actually quite simple: old wires + house = fires”, explains Meehan. According to the U.S Fire Administration, in a typical year, home electrical problems result in 67,800 home fires, 485 deaths and $868 million in property losses.
“New wiring, if installed right is much safer and less likely to cause outages, shortages or fires”, adds Meehan.
Just as new wiring, impact-resistant roofing can also help you lower your premiums. Your house’s roof is a major concern for your Milwaukee home insurance company, so it comes as no surprise that insurers have been increasingly willing to offer rate discounts to homeowners as an incentive to invest in an all-resistant roof.
“Not only do roofs take a beating from wind, rain and hurricane-blown debris, but once compromised, the damage costs on home insurance claim can raise dramatically”, says Meehan.
If you are thinking about a house renovation, check with your insurance agent first on how to maximize your savings, as savings often go to the new house or one that has been recently renovated.
“The reason is that new pipes don’t leak, new furnaces don’t malfunction and new wires don’t cause fires”, Meehan explains. “Milwaukee home insurance companies offer homebuyer discounts when an inspection process has occurred, as loss mitigation has been done through that process”.
Home insurers are such a good influence, that they even want to contribute to your health improvement.
“Unfortunately, where there’s smoke, there is fire”, points out Meehan. “Home insurance companies usually raise their rates if there is a smoker in the household. But some of them offer credit if the household is smoke-free. It’s not a rating tier, however, you don’t go to a nonsmoker rate for home insurance the way you do with life insurance”, says Meehan.
Finally, one of the things that Milwaukee home insurance agents always tell their clients is that “no claims is good news”.
Your absence of claims keeps more money in your insurer’s pocket. And increasingly, they are willing to pass some of that savings on to you by shaving your home insurance premiums.
“People who have been claims-free for 10 years can get somewhere around a 20 percent discount. I think a lot of companies are trying to reward longevity”, concludes Meehan.
