If you’re looking for a way to keep household costs down, taking the time to re-assess your home insurance can be a great way of saving some extra cash. To help reduce your home premiums, our AA Home Insurance team have put together a list of 9 tips on steps you can take to keep costs down.

1. While reviewing your policy annually may seem like an obvious step, it’s also one many homeowners overlook. As your renewal approaches it’s important to check the details of your cover as circumstances, such as the value of your contents, may change year-on-year. Keeping the details you provide to your insurer up to date and as accurate as possible will help you get cover at the best price.

2. When insuring your home avoid over-valuing your property. Many people look to insure their home for its market value or the amount they paid for the property when purchasing it. However, the current rebuilding cost of the property is what you should insure the buildings for as the land is already there and does not need to be acquired again should you sustain a loss. If you’re unsure of the rebuild costs for your home the Society of Chartered Surveyors has a useful housing rebuild calculator which can help give you an estimate for your rebuild costs

3. Be careful when it comes to the value you place on your contents. If you over-value your contents when purchasing your home insurance you may wind up paying a higher premium than you need to. In the event of a claim, your insurer will only pay out what they perceive to be the value of the contents insured. However, it’s important also to avoid under-valuing your contents as, in this scenario, any claim you make could be reduced in proportion to the level you under-valued the contents.

4. A safe home is a happy home and making your home more secure against burglary can not only give you some peace of mind but also leave a little extra cash in your pocket. Taking measures such as ensuring there are fitted locks in operation on windows & doors and fitting a monitored home alarm will be viewed positively by your insurer and will help you reduce the cost of home insurance.

5. Increasing your voluntary excess is a great way to help bring down your home insurance premium. Excess represents the amount you will have to pay if you make a claim, while your home insurance provider will cover any remaining amount. If you’re in a position to do so, opting to pay a higher excess in the event that you have to make a claim can help reduce your premiums.

6. Ask about insurer discounts such as discounts for having multiple policies with the same insurer or current offers. For example, AA Home Insurance is currently offering a €60 discount on all home insurance policies purchased online. Also, if you have other AA products such as AA Car Insurance or AA Membership, you may receive a premium reduction

7. Consider purchasing home insurance from a provider other than your mortgage provider. Many people will choose to purchase home insurance from their mortgage provider at the same time as arranging their mortgage because it appears easier. However, this will not always result in you getting the best deal, so it’s important to shop around and make sure you’re getting a competitive price.

8. Paying your home insurance annually, instead of by monthly instalments, can reduce costs as some insurers may add interest to monthly instalments.

9. Review your options for covering mobile phones, tablets etc by looking at gadget insurance. This may work out cheaper than covering them on your home insurance policy and will not have an impact on your home insurance no claims bonus should you need to claim for them.

Are you in the market for home insurance? With AA Home Insurance you can currently get a €60 discount on any online quote.