How To Get Cheap Homeowner's Insurance Online In New Jersey

Posted by Nick Niesen on October 29th, 2010

Very few homeowners in New Jersey elect not to insurance their home even if they have the option to do so. Why would so many people choose to pay for insurance month after month even when no one is forcing them to?

Simple. Protecting their home is important to them. And why shouldn't it be? For most people their home is their biggest investment ever and for most people it is also their largest asset. It just makes good business sense to protect something that valuable.

Of course, that doesn't mean anyone wants to pay more than they have to to protect their home - and today, with dozens of online sites ready to compare prices on homeowner's insurance from almost every insurance company operating in New Jersey, there's no reason for anyone to pay even 1 penny more than they absolutely have to to insure their home.

But before you jump online looking for the best price for homeowner's insurance you really need to take a moment and do just a little bit of homework if you want to have any chance of putting together the best and least expensive homeowner's insurance policy - and then getting the best price possible for it online.

Let's start with how much insurance you need. You may want to talk with a contractor or a skilled real estate agent to get an exact figure, but you need to insure your home for the full amount it would take to rebuild it from the foundation up and for the cost of replacing its contents if they were all destroyed.

What you don't want to do is to insure for the value of the land that your house is sitting on. That's a mistake - a costly mistake - that many people make.

Keep in mind, too, that your homeowner's insurance probably does not cover all disasters equally and you need to talk to your insurance agent about this. Most standard homeowner's policies in New Jersey do not cover full wind damage and none of them cover flood damage. There may be additional coverage you can get to cover full wind damage. For flood insurance you must purchase a completely separate policy insured by the federal government. Your agent can explain it to you.

Keep your credit rating clean! Did you know that your credit rating has an effect on how much you pay every month for your homeowner's insurance? If you want to get cheap homeowner's insurance in New Jersey you're going to have to maintain good credit - at least around the time you are applying.

Start by repairing or replacing all broken, cracked or buckled cement walkways on your property. Fill in any potholes or other places that could cause someone to fall or stumble on your property. Replace or repair all loose or missing floorboards on porches and decks and replace or repair any lose handrails.

Cut all brush and weeds back 10 feet from all buildings. Install motion-sensitive floodlighting. Trim all bushes away from windows so burglars have no place to hide when trying to break into your home.

Make sure all exterior doors have a working deadbolt lock. Make certain that all windows - yes, even upper story windows - have a working lock.

Tell your agent about all the work you have done. You should get a substantial reduction in your premium for doing what has already been mentioned. And we're not done yet.

If your home is at least 10 years old ask your agent how much of a savings on your premium you could get if you upgraded the plumbing and wiring in your home. Run the figures and see how long it would take to pay for the work using the savings that you would realize each month on your insurance. See if it makes sense to you.

Make certain that you have installed the proper number of smoke and fire detectors and that they all have fresh batteries twice yearly. Buy a fire extinguisher that is specifically rated for your kitchen and keep it handy.

Ask your agent what else you could do to save on your monthly bill.

Use the ideas in this article to create your own perfect homeowner's policy that will save you as much as possible right from the start - and then get online and make comparisons of prices for your super policy on at least 3 different websites that allow you to compare prices between companies head-to-head.

Now all you need to do is to choose the lowest price from a company that you feel confident will still be here in 30 years and your job is done! This is how you get cheap homeowner's insurance online in New Jersey.