If you’re getting ready to buy a home, you’re probably already trying to maintain your budget to make a down payment. And if you already have a home and homeowners insurance, you will want to make sure you are getting the best deal for your money.

There a lot of factors used by insurance companies to decide how much your home insurance will cost. Some are in your control, and you can use them to help keep your rate down. Others aren’t.

Let’s take a look some of the factors that determine how much your homeowners insurance costs.

Factors You Have Some Control Over

Coverage Limits – While you must ensure you carry enough coverage to protect yourself, or your mortgage lender, you can play a bit with coverage limits, especially your personal liability and personal belongings coverage limits.

Deductible Amounts – Your deductible is the amount you will be responsible for if you must make a claim. Choosing a higher deductible lowers your annual premium and is often used as a way to save money. Just be sure that you can cover the deductible amount should something happen.

Discounts – There are number of ways to take discounts on home insurance rates. Types of discounts include bundling auto and home and having safety and security features for your home that help protect against loss.

Factors Out of Your Control

Your Home – The age of your home, how your home is built, and its location are all important factors in determining your homeowners insurance cost. For instance, older homes may come with higher premiums automatically because of their increased risk for problems. If your home is located in an area with a higher than normal crime rate, you will also probably see higher rates. A wood-frame home is also more of a risk than a brick home. While you can’t simply change these characteristics of the home you want to insure, it’s good to understand why your rates may be higher.

Claims History – Insurance companies do not like to pay out money for claims. So, if you’ve made homeowners claims in the past, you may be facing higher rates now. And it’s not just about you personally. If previous owners of the house you want to insure have made claims on the house, the insurance company may view the property as more risky than other homes and give you a higher rate.

So, while there are many factors used to determine homeowners insurance costs, you do have at least some control over how high your rates may go. Bundling auto and home insurance, keeping a good credit score and avoiding risky additions to the home, such as a pool, will all help keep those costs down.

The best way to ensure you are getting the best rates possible for home insurance costs is to shop around and compare rates. InsuranceWay can help. Simply enter your information and you’ll receive quotes from major carriers. The more quotes you receive, the better chance you have of finding the lowest possible homeowners insurance costs.