Want to save money? Start shopping for home insurance policies
Bottom Line: One of the more expensive mistakes you might be making is just accepting the auto renewal of your homeowner's insurance policy. The average savings by someone switching home insurance policies in Florida in recent years has been close to 20% based on data from the Florida Department of Insurance Regulation and Bankrate.com. In a separate story today, I've illustrated significant property insurance rate increases on the way with the next renewal. The increases will average 10% - plus. Florida’s property insurance premiums are already the most expensive in the country averaging $3,643 this year. That means the average policy will reset at over $4,000 next year when your policy renews. And heaven forbid if you’ve actually had to file a claim along the way. But here’s the thing – the one way to save money in the mist of a double-digit increase in costs is to shop around.
The average homeowner owns a home for seven years and evaluates home insurance every eight. What this tells you is that most homeowners never reevaluate their insurance company or costs. Whomever you have when you buy your home commonly remains the same until you don’t unless you’re forced to make a decision by the insurance company itself. This is why there’s an average 20% savings discovered for the average homeowner which takes the time to shop around. And here’s the difference it can make next year alone.
- $365 – the average cost increase for home insurance in Florida for 2021
- $729 – the average cost savings for a homeowner who reevaluates home insurance for 2021
The bottom line is this. It may be possible for you to turn an average $365 cost increase for home insurance into an average savings of $365 over what you paid this year – you just need to take the time to evaluate. Home insurance in South Florida isn’t something you should generally set and forget due to the high costs we already pay. With the big increases coming next year – that's especially the case.