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Lower Your California Home Owner Insurance

California is certainly not the cheapest state in the union, and accordingly, California home owner insurance rates tend to be among the highest in the nation.  But if you've recently purchased a home in California, there are still things you can do to ensure you get the best home owner insurance coverage, while keeping your premium rates as reasonable as possible.

In this article we will discuss a few ways to lower the costs of your California home owner insurance, and how doing comparative research of different insurance companies can wind up saving you big money in the long run.

When seeking to lower your California insurance rates, the first step is to be certain that you are not currently over-insured.  Taking a thorough inventory of your home, its contents, and your property, will help determine if you are over-insured for the value of your property.  Occasionally, you may even find that your home and property are under-insured, and while this will not save you money on your premium, it is important to know nevertheless.

Another way to begin cutting the costs of your home owner insurance is to ask your insurance agent about the possibility of insuring only your home, but not the land it is built on.  Removing your lot of land from your insurance policy can significantly reduce your rates, and since most potential damage will happen to your home itself, it is unlikely that you would ever need to file a claim for damage to your property anyway.

This technique is sometimes known as a dwelling-only policy.  Depending on the type of mortgage you have, and the amount of equity you have accumulated in your home, a dwelling-only policy could be a reasonable alternative for you.

Most insurance companies that do business in California will also allow for package discounts.  In other words, if you ensure not only your home, but also your vehicles with the same company, you can often get a lower overall rate.  And it's sometimes possible to get an even better deal by including your life insurance and health insurance policies in the same overall package.  This is a type of loyalty discount that is often given to customers who use the same insurer for all their insurance needs.

You can also ask your insurance agency about reducing your premium rates based on the installation of home safety and security features.  For example, some insurers will lower your home owner rates if you install a home security system, or add additional fire extinguishers, for example.  Occasionally, your rates could be a lowered simply by installing a few extra smoke alarms.  Policies vary from company to company, so be sure to ask your agent about lower premium rates based on additional home safety and security features.

Finally remember the old adage, "It pays to shop around."  This is certainly the case when it comes to California home insurance quotes.  Undoubtedly, the easiest way to shop around is by comparing different insurers online.  Many times it is even possible to get a preliminary quote directly from the insurer's web site, saving you lots of time and potentially lots of money on your California home owner insurance.