If you’re like the rest of us, you’re looking to save money any way you can. You make sacrifices like eating out less, cutting back on vacations, and buying fewer clothes. However, there’s another way to save money – by taking advantage of the discounts your insurer offers on your homeowner’s insurance.

Here are four way ways to lower the costs of your premium, courtesy of the Insurance Information Institute.

1. Install a home security system.

Most major insurances companies offer discounts to homeowners who protect their homes against theft, fire, and vandalism with a professionally-installed and monitored home security system.

In fact, you can expect discounts of at least 5% for installing an alarm system in your home. For more a more advanced alarm system that reports to a security company’s monitoring station, some insurers could shave 15% or even 20% off your premiums, Insurance Information Institute spokesman Michael Barry tells InsuranceQuotes.com.

Dick Luedke, a spokesman for State Farm, notes that his insurance company has been offering premium discounts to homeowners who install home alarm systems for many years.

“The risk is usually lowered because of a central alarm system, so we want to charge premiums that reflect that reduced risk,” Luedke says in the InsuranceQuote.com article. “It’s just like someone having airbags in their car. The risk of an injury is less, so the premium is also less.”

2. Buy your homeowner’s insurance and your car insurance from the same insurer.

Some will take 5% to 15% of your premium if you buy two or more polices from them.

The Insurance Information Institute suggests that you check around to be sure that the combined price with the discount is lower than buying different types of insurance from different companies.

3. Don’t switch insurers too often.

If you’ve purchased your homeowner’s policy from the same company for several years, you could get a discount for being a long-term customer. Some insurance companies will reduce your premiums by 5% percent if you stay with them for three to five years. You could get a 10% discount if you stay with the same company for 10 years. However, the Insurance Information Institute recommends checking the prices of other companies periodically.

4. Ask if you’re eligible for other discounts.

For example, if you’re over 55 and retired, you might qualify for a special discount of up to 10%. Some insurers offer discounts to retired people because they’re at home more than people who are working, which means they’re less likely to be burglarized, and they have more time to keep their homes in tip-top shape.

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