When purchasing any type of insurance, it’s important to know what factors impact your rates, and home insurance is no exception. With that in mind, today we bring you a list of some of the most important factors that impact your home insurance rates.
1. The Price of Your Home
It’s simple math: the higher the cost of your home, the more it would cost to repair and replace it. That’s why the price of your home is one of the first variables an insurance company will look at to calculate your insurance premiums.
2. Your Home’s Square Footage
Again, this is a numbers game. A bigger home is subject to more risks, so it’s easy to see why square footage plays an important role when it comes to determining your home insurance rates.
3. Your Home’s Age and Condition
If your house is old or in poor condition, you will probably have to pay more to insure it. Older or unkept homes are more prone to damage, increasing the potential for insurance claims — and the cost of your insurance as well.
4. The Likelihood of Natural Disasters
Insurance companies like to look at the big picture, so external factors also are taken into account as part of the calculations when they figure out your insurance rates. This factor is particularly important in California, where homes are exposed to large-scale risks like earthquakes or wildfires.
5. Local Crime Rates
Home insurance policies help pay if your home is burglarized or vandalized. So it makes sense that local crime rates influence your insurance rates, even if you have never been a victim of these incidents.
6. Your Credit History
In some states, insurance companies are allowed to look at your credit report as part of the process of determining your home insurance rates. However, It’s worth noting that a few states (including California, Maryland, and Massachusetts), have forbidden or limited this practice.
7. Your Deductible
As with any other type of insurance, your deductible is one of the main factors that impact your home insurance rates.
Simply put, your deductible is the amount you agree to pay out of pocket when you have a covered accident and need to file a claim. The general rule is that the higher your deductible is, the lower your premiums will be.
However, you must be careful: if you choose a deductible that is too high, you will enjoy the benefits of low rates, but when you need to file a claim, you might realize that you can’t cover the deductible. So try to find the right balance between affordable rates and a deductible you can cover without breaking the bank.
Delgado’s Insurance: Affordable Home Insurance in California
If you need insurance in the Golden State, look no further than Delgado’s Insurance.
We have locations in Riverside, California, and Bloomington, California. Get in touch today by telephone (951-361-0084, 909-421-9003), email (mail@delgadosinsurance.com), or through our social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter)!
