Advice On Home Insurance - How To Get The Rate Lower ?

[stashing_it]

I live in the greater Seattle area.    We have a house with a value of ~1.1 M  (800,000 on 300,000 land) and are building a separate building on it ~200,000 that will serve as a house for my dad.

Annual insurance cost is ~2,550 with Liberty Mutual through Geico, and I wanted to see if there was any advice on how to get a lower premium with similar coverage.   I have compares several companies and not seen anything better

Coverage
Deductible for everything 5,000
Personal Liability  - 300,000
Medical Payment   -   1,000
Dwelling Coverage  -  800,000
Other Structures   -   200,000
Personal Property   -   600,000   ( we definitely don't have 600K worth of stuff, but I think I asked about this before and that is as low as they go, it's based off of the dwelling coverage)
Additional Living Expenses

All that has a premium of  ~ 1,570

Additionally we have earthquake insurance with a 15% deductible (I think) which runs 978

We also have auto insurance through Geico,  and an umbrella policy through a different company (Geico wouldn't cover us at the level I wanted for umbrella)

Any thoughts on if this is out of line, any options to pursue to reduce the premium.

[legalstache]

I pay about $1,000 annually (with earthquake) on a home worth about half as much as yours, so I guess your numbers don't strike me as too out of line. We bundled through State Farm and got a significant discount for being longtime auto insurance clients with good records.

If I were you, I'd probably try to raise my deductible. Also, I'm not sure what the medical payment is (and the premium is probably low for that anyway), but maybe consider whether you need that. When I got our quote, I just went through everything line by line and tried to decide whether we needed it or it could be changed.

[Chris @ Saturday Financial]

After you decide the amount of coverage and deductibles you’re comfortable with, get quotes from two providers directly as well as an independent insurance broker.  The broker will shop around with numerous companies on your behalf, and likely bring you significant savings.

[Raenia]

One thing you can do is ask if there are any safety improvements that would lower your premium.  For instance, more advanced fire alarms, new fire extinguishers in the home, cutting down trees in position to fall on the house, or installing a burglar alarm.  Some companies will give a lower premium for homes with better safety features, as you are less likely to make a claim.

[stashing_it]

One thing you can do is ask if there are any safety improvements that would lower your premium.  For instance, more advanced fire alarms, new fire extinguishers in the home, cutting down trees in position to fall on the house, or installing a burglar alarm.  Some companies will give a lower premium for homes with better safety features, as you are less likely to make a claim.

Thanks!  good idea