What are you paying for home insurance in the Peach State? Whatever it is, the odds are good that your coverage could cost less simply by taking advantage of available premium discounts.
As an added advantage to saving money, several of these available homeowners insurance discounts will improve the appearance, safety, or comfort of your home and increase its market value. Win-win.
Unveiling the Biggest Home Insurance Discounts in Georgia
Start with the basics. These are a few homeowners insurance discounts available to most Peach State homeowners, from Sky Valley to Savannah.
Bundling Home and Auto Policies
Do you own or are you in the process of buying a car? A home? Perfect! Find yourself an insurer who carries policies for both auto and homeowners insurance, and buy both plans from that carrier. It’s called bundling.
When you bundle your home and auto insurance, it takes advantage of the fact that most businesses would prefer to make multiple sales to an already loyal customer. It costs less for a company to further develop an ongoing relationship than to find new clients. So, if they already carry your auto insurance, they’ll be happy to cut the rates on your homeowners insurance (and vice versa). So take advantage of the savings you’ve already earned.
Loyal Customer Discounts
Here’s another pocketbook advantage to sticking with your existing insurer. How long have you been a policyholder with your existing homeowners insurance provider? Chances are, if it’s been quite a while and the relationship has gone smoothly, they want to keep you.
In fact, they want to continue the relationship so much that they might offer you a homeowners insurance discount to keep you onboard.
Not every insurer has a loyal customer program, but you’ll never know without asking. At the very least, your agent might be able to steer you to additional ways to save on home insurance that you might not be aware of.
Rewards for No Claim History
When insurers think about ideal business relationships, it involves the company not paying out more than they take in via premiums. That, after all, is how homeowners insurance companies stay solvent.
If you have no claims over an extended period, it’s likely that you’ll see your premiums fall. You’ve proven yourself to be a good customer, and your insurer doesn’t want to lose your business.
Remember that the purpose of your coverage is to keep your home from draining your finances in the event of a major calamity. Think fire or smoke damage, internal flooding from burst water pipes, burglary, vandalism, or other unexpected — and costly — events.
If you have a mishap that causes $1,200 in covered damages, but you have a $1,000 deductible (more on this later), you can turn in the claim and get your insurer to cut you a check for $200. But why? It’s not much of a payoff, and it might make you a less preferred customer and cause your rates to increase. If you save your insurance claims for times when it really matters, it can result in valuable savings.
Home Upgrades That Can Really Pay Off
You can earn some of your biggest Georgia home insurance discounts by doing work on your home that you can earn back with a higher asking price when you sell your place. These upgrades will also make you feel safer or more comfortable and take more pride in your living spaces.
Security System Installation and Safety Features
You don’t want your home and family to be prey to burglars, vandals, or porch theft artists — and neither does your insurer. That’s why they’re likely to offer you homeowners insurance discounts to install digital smart home security devices.
Today’s technology provides a whole range of products, from surveillance cameras and outdoor lighting to motion detectors and burglar alarms at all doors and windows. Best of all, this smart home technology enables you to operate and monitor all of this activity from an app installed on your phone.
You can watch your home, turn lights on and off, and even communicate with strangers at your front door — and sound like you’re inside the house — even if you’re a thousand miles away. It’s not expensive, and the chances are good that your insurer will love your security system as much as you will. Discuss your plans with your agent, who can tell you what devices and features will help you save the most in your homeowners insurance.
Roofing Enhancements and the Impact on Premiums
A roof in poor condition can damage your home in many ways. Most obviously, it can lead to water damage to the walls, ceiling, floors, and your personal property. But a weakened roof can also let in rodents that will gnaw away at your home until major damage occurs.
Gutters that are constantly blocked will also lead to moisture getting in, leading to mold, plaster damage, and more.
That’s why the installation of a new roof or a gutter guard system is such a win-win strategy. It will improve the appearance and resale value of your home and can garner discounts from your insurer. Be sure to consult your insurance agent before or soon after undertaking such an upgrade investment.
Plumbing and Electrical Renovations for Reduced Rates
The thought of electrical fires and internal water damage doesn’t just scare you — it also makes insurance underwriters nervous.
Once again, improvements to your electrical and/or plumbing systems won’t just make your residence more livable and raise its resale value. These upgrades will also interest your insurer. Be sure to alert them when you make such investments, and you might earn discounts on your homeowners insurance rates to help pay for the valuable renovations.
Savings for Recently Constructed Homes
Congratulations on your new home. Everything is brand-spanking new and can be expected to work in an optimal manner for years to come. There’s no sagging roof, no cross-your-fingers electrical system, the furnace is super-dependable, and you might include state-of-the-art smart home technology from the get-go.
If your previous residence was a century home, you might be thrilled to see the new-home discounts your new place can earn you. That’s because your insurer expects less to go wrong and fewer claims to be filed.
Demographic and Lifestyle-Based Discounts
Sometimes, the savings opportunity is more about you than your home. Be sure to take advantage of the following if you qualify.
Senior Citizen Savings and Retirement Perks
Yes, age sometimes has its advantages. Some insurers grant discounts to policyholders upon reaching age 65. Not every insurer, but it certainly warrants asking your agent, especially if you’ve been claim-free for an extended period.
Non-Smokers and Marital Status Discounts
Smoking in bed is a proven fire risk. It’s also true that small children might find lighters or matches for smoking and start fires. For these reasons, non-smokers can take a win with reduced rates.
In addition, married people are — right or wrong — considered to be more responsible and established than the unmarried. That, too, could translate to rate reductions when shopping for home insurance coverage.
Military and Occupational Discounts
It might be little more than good public relations for the insurance company, but some offer occupational discounts. You might qualify if you’re a retired or active-duty member of the U.S. military, a police officer or firefighter, or a teacher. The monetary savings could be significant enough to at least make you want to share your profession with your agent.
Location-Specific Savings Strategies in Georgia
Your state’s residential real estate does not come cheap. In 2024, the average sale price of a Georgia home was over $325,000 and much more than that in and near Atlanta, especially ITP (inside the perimeter). Any house payment savings are valuable. Some of those homeowners insurance cuts can come about as a result of where you live.
ZIP Code Wisdom: Playing the Geographic Card
Some cities, suburbs, and even neighborhoods are statistically safer than others. There might be less crime or vandalism, fewer fires, and, therefore, fewer insurance claims than in other areas. When you get interested in a home for sale, connect with your insurance carrier and see how much — or how relatively little — you’ll pay for your homeowners policy.
Proximity to Fire Services and Gated Community Benefits
It might be your long-term dream to buy a rustic cabin and live miles from civilization. But how close is the nearest fire department? How far must rescuers travel? Where’s the nearest water source? These are all questions your underwriter will ask in establishing your rates, so you should think of that topic too.
Gated communities carry obvious crime-fighting benefits. As a result, you should gain a good discount on your home insurance if you move to such a location.
Strategic Financial Moves to Lower Premiums
When it comes to homeowners insurance rates, you’re not simply stuck with whatever your agent tells you. There are additional options that can reduce your monthly premiums even after you’ve taken advantage of several other discounts.
Maximizing Deductibles for Long-Term Gains
Your deductible is the amount that you agree to pay on a covered claim before your insurer starts to make payment. If you have a $500 deductible, that’s what you’ll pay for a new roof–or whatever the claim–before your insurance company pays the rest.
If you raise that deductible to $1,000, it will cost you more out of pocket when you file a claim–but less in premiums. Over the course of several years — or decades — the savings can add up considerably, even if you have an occasional claim. By one estimate, you might save 25 percent on premiums with such a shift.
You might go even higher on your deductible — to $5,000 or $10,000 — and see your rates really tumble. Just make sure you don’t raise your deductible so high that it would be a financial hardship, or even an impossibility, to pay your part if you do have a claim.
The Role of Credit Scores in Insurance Costs
Underwriters see homeowners with good to excellent credit scores as being more responsible and lower coverage risks. They benefit with better rates. That’s because studies show that those with good credit scores file fewer home insurance claims than those with lower scores.
From a pragmatic stance, those with higher scores are more likely to pay their insurance premiums on time. If your credit is good, make sure your insurer knows. It could be another way of saving.