Homeowners Look for More Insurance Discounts

With the current state of the economy, more home insurance customers are turning to insurance companies who offer bundling, home security and home safety discounts to outweigh the rising cost of homeowners insurance.

Home insurance rates have steadily increased over the past five years with 42 percent of U.S. homeowners reporting a premium increase in 2008. Catastrophic storms making landfall in the U.S. are mostly to blame and have caused many insurance providers to increase rates or decline coverage in coastal/storm-prone regions.

With the unemployment rate at a 40-year high and the mortgage crisis among us, homeowners under strain from the current economic slump are feeling the affects of insurance rate hikes now more than ever.

A 2008 study by J.D. Power and Associates shows that satisfaction levels among home insurance customers have flat-lined over the past five years in a direct correlation with rising home insurance rates. Further, data from a 2008 poll on HomeInsurance.com reported that 91 percent of respondents were unaware of what discounts they were taking advantage of on their homeowners policy -- if any at all.

However, as homeowners grow more aware of the benefits of home insurance discounts, experts expect satisfaction levels to increase. For example, in the same 2008 J.D. Power and Associates study, customers who bundled their policies reported being more satisfied with their homeowners insurance.

In addition, homeowners are now asking for home security and home safety discounts. Additional savings of 10-15 percent are often awarded to homeowners who have deadbolts, home security systems, fire alarms and/or fire extinguishers.

For a list of some common home insurance discounts visit: http://homeinsurance.com/articles/home-insurance-discounts.php .