Forbes: 10 ways to control your home insurance costs

Home insurance costs seem to go up every year. But going without insurance is too risky. So, we grit our teeth and pay the bill each year. Of course, we could competitively shop the policy every year, but that's onerous. It takes a lot of study to understand the difference between policies. Often it's easier to stay with the policy that has the appropriate coverage. And longer-term policyholders can earn discounts for longevity. Here are 10 ways that you can control your home insurance costs:
Increase deductibles. Insurance isn't meant to cover the small stuff. Set deductibles as high as you can afford. For example, a $150,000 house could have a $1500 or 1% deductible.
Make improvements. Install a backup generator, a whole house surge protector, and smoke/CO2 detectors. Refit roof trusses with strapping.
Opt for hip roofs. Hip roofs offer the most slippery shape in high wind settings or storms. You don't want areas that can catch the wind and are prone to damage.

Locate intelligently. Stay away from flood prone areas. Look for brick or stone houses in high wind areas and wooden frame houses in earthquake-prone areas. Locate in communities with professional fire departments. Have your home inspected before purchase. Also check the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange report of your home before purchase to see insurance claim history.

Don't make small claims. Frequent claims can drive up rates. Don't sweat the small stuff. Insurance is meant to protect from catastrophic loss.
Reinforce your home. Install storm shutters, reinforce the roof, retrofit older homes for earthquake resistance, and modernize heating, plumbing, electrical to reduce risk of fire and water damage.
Improve home security. Add smoke detectors, burglar alarms, and deadbolts.
Exclude land value. It's unlikely the land beneath your home will be stolen or burned in a fire. Insure the value of the home only.
Combine policies with one insurer. Most insurance companies offer discounts for multiple policy households. Combine home and auto insurance. Then buy an umbrella liability policy over both to optimize cost.
Eliminate unnecessary coverage. Don't buy coverage you don't need: earthquake coverage is unnecessary in most zones; don't schedule jewelry if it's inexpensive, etc.
Talk to your agent about other discounts. Sometimes there is a discount for good drivers, or retirees, or people with good credit ratings.
Conversely, be sure you have enough insurance. Don't be penny-wise and pound-foolish. Saving a few dollars a year will seem silly if you find out you've skimped on coverage that later costs you thousands. Be sure to read the policy and ask your agent a lot of questions so you understand what coverage you do and don't have.
Paying attention to your home insurance can ensure that you have the optimal coverage with the right risk/cost balance. That's smart.

The Cheapest (And Most Expensive) 2013 Cars To Insure

While it’s true that drivers can help minimize their auto insurance premiums by comparing rates from various carriers, maximizing deductibles and qualifying for applicable discounts, the biggest long-term savings can come from buying a vehicle that’s inherently cheaper to insure in the first place. That’s especially since auto insurance rates are otherwise largely based on invariables like a person’s gender, age, driving record and address.
According to an extensive survey of more than 750 car models and six major carriers conducted for Insure.com, crossover SUVS dominate the rankings of least expensive vehicles to insure for 2013, with the Ford Edge at the top of the list with an average annual premium of $1,148.
“In the past, minivans have dominated the ‘least expensive to insure’ rankings,” says Amy Danise, editorial director of Insure.com. “But SUVs and crossovers have parked themselves in the best spots in the rankings for the 2013 model year.”

By comparison, the costliest car to insure (excluding exotics), the posh Mercedes-Benz CL600 luxury coupe, gnaws at its owners’ pocketbooks with a stiff $3,357 yearly premium. Though it would admittedly be a stretch in terms of vehicular cross shopping, choosing the Edge over a CL600 would save a motorist $2,229 annually or $11,145 in insurance costs over a five-year ownership period (not to mention a small fortune in depreciation, financing costs, maintenance and so on).
In Pictures: 16 Cheapest Cars To Insure.
Of course, costlier cars are always more expensive to ensure. Their overall replacement values are greater and their repair costs tend to be more expensive than other types of vehicles. Beyond that, insurance companies look at past claims histories to determine which models incur more or less damage in a crash, are more or less damaging to other vehicles, people and property, are more or less likely to be stolen or be involved in a crash and have higher or lower bodily injury claims. By that measure, high-performance cars tend to be costly to insure because they tend to be driven more aggressively and are, in turn, involved in a proportionately higher percentage of accidents than more sedate sedans and SUVs.
Other family-friendly crossovers cited for having among the most affordable annual average auto insurance rates (in the $1,100-$1,200 range) include three Jeeps, the Grand Cherokee Patriot and Compass, the Subaru Outback, the Kia Sportage and Sorento, Ford Explorer and Transit Express the Chevrolet Equinox and Nissan Pathfinder. We’ve included a full list of the cheapest to insure models and their projected annual premiums in the accompanying slide show.
Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz is responsible for 11 out of the 20 most expensive models to insure for 2013, including multiple variations of its top CL-, S- and SL-Class models. Five come from Porsche (including various versions of the 911 and Panamera), three from Jaguar (the XK and XKR coupe/convertible) and one BMW, the 650i. Average rates here run from around $2,600 to over $3,300 annually. A complete database of the average rates for all makes and models can be found here.
In Pictures: 16 Cheapest Cars To Insure.
Data on premiums for the survey was compiled by Quadrant Information Services based on auto insurance rates for more than 750 car and truck models from six large carriers – Allstate, Farmers, GEICO, Nationwide, Progressive and State Farm – in 10 ZIP codes per state. Rates were not available for all models, particularly exotic cars. Averages assume a single, 40-year-old male with a clean driving record and good credit who commutes 12 miles to work each day, with policy limits of 100/300/50 ($100,000 for injury liability for one person, $300,000 for all injuries and $50,000 for property damage in an accident) and a $500 deductible on collision and comprehensive coverage.
Of course, “your mileage may vary.” Demographically, women and married men tend to pay the lowest premiums, with younger men (the most accident prone group of all) being charged the highest rates for a given make and model. You’ll pay higher rates if there’s multiple tickets and/or accidents on your driving record, you live in a big city, and/or drive an excessive number of miles per year, among other factors; if you have a DUI on your record or are considered a poor credit risk you may not be able to obtain auto insurance at all, depending on the carrier.
And yes, be sure to comparison shop among multiple carriers, ask about discounts and consider raising your policy’s deductibles to further minimize your annual auto insurance premiums.

Protect Your Bubble Finds Car Insurance For Female Drivers Soars for 2013

Car insurance quotes for female drivers rose by as much as 33% overnight as an EU ruling banning motor insurance providers from varying premiums by gender came into force, according to research collected by the specialist car excess insurer, Protect your bubble

Protect Your Bubble took best-price annual car insurance quotes, with on-road parking included, from a selection of leading insurance providers, for a 26-year-old female account manager, before December 21, 2012 and compared them to quotes given for the same criteria on Friday December 21, 2012. The best-price quotes were collected for 12 test locations across the UK.

For some areas of the country, the price increase is staggering. In Newcastle, the best-price annual insurance quote increased overnight by a third (33%) for women drivers while, in Coventry, the price hike was 30%. Bournemouth has seen annual premiums soar by more than a quarter (26.5%) following the EU ruling while, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, premiums rose by 18.7%. Chester was the only location out of the twelve test areas where prices for women drivers actually decreased, falling by 12.4%.

The below shows the best-price annual car insurance quotes collected before and after Friday December 21, 2012 for a 26-year-old female account manager, living in one of 12 locations across the UK*:

Newcastle Upon Tyne (NE5) Before: £580.58    After: £772.44    Increase: 33%

Coventry (CV1)                     Before: £681.28    After: £885.86    Increase: 30%

Birmingham (B4)             Before: £807.72    £1036.32    28.3

Bournemouth (BH1)    Before: £462.20    After: £584.60    Increase: 26.5%

London Borough of Tower Hamlets (E2)    Before: £877.68    After: £1041.98    Increase: 18.7%

Worsley (M28)    Before: £716.88    After: £810.60    Increase: 13%

Sheffield (S5)    Before: £716.88    After: £810.60    Increase: 13%

Windsor (SL4)    Before: £543.48    After: £584.47    Increase: 7.5%

Hayling Island (PO11)    Before: £380.75    After: £407.80    Increase 7.1%

Cardiff (CF3)    Before: £635.47    After: £678.75    Increase: 6.8%

Edinburgh (EH10)     Before: £329.29     After: £336.18    Increase: 2.1%

Chester (CH2)    Before: £543.38    After: £476.14    Decrease: -12.4%

Encharter Insurance Explains Property Damage Coverage on Car Insurance Policies

Local insurance agency educates insurance consumers with new video series.

Amherst, Mass. (PRWEB) January 14, 2013

People are told that they need to buy auto insurance. So they talk to an agent, sign some papers, and purchase a policy. Now what? What does it mean to have that policy? Do they know how it is supposed to protect them? If they understand the different types of coverage that make up their policy, as well as the additional coverages that may be available to them, buying insurance becomes a more comfortable process.

The agents at Encharter Insurance have recently released the first in a series of videos that clearly explain the various types of coverage that make up the average insurance policy.

“We are very pleased to issue these educational clips,” said David Siekman, Sales and Marketing Manager at Encharter Insurance. “We believe that an informed and educated consumer is an ideal buyer, one who understands the value an insurance policy purchase. As an independent insurance agent, we are privileged to be able to present this much-needed knowledge to viewers in a way that is fun and engaging and, above all else, informational.”

The latest video, titled “Property Damage on Car Insurance,” identifies the items that consumers need to know about the Property Damage Coverage on their auto policy. Ben, the Encharter agent in this particular video, starts out by explaining that this coverage is meant to protect consumers from loss due to damage to someone else’s property; e.g. when a consumer hits someone else’s mailbox or a fence. He also states that this coverage is subject to the limits that are set when they purchase the policy.

Be sure to watch the video and keep an eye out for more of the like.

Also, consumers with any questions about car insurance, can call Encharter today at 888-865-1244. Encharter's agents would be very happy to address queries.

Encharter Insurance is an independent insurance agency, bringing personal insurance products to Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Jersey.