Discounts for homeowners insurance
If you’ve just spent your savings on a down payment to become a newly minted homeowner, you’re probably eager to regain some financial footing. Getting homeowners insurance to cover your new asset is essential to protect your investment. In addition to shopping around for insurance quotes to find the best rate, you should inquire about discounts you can qualify for to lower your premium even further.
We’ll review some common home insurance discounts offered by top insurance companies so you know exactly what to ask about when you’re about to finalize your homeowners insurance policy. Keep in mind that some of these discounts may not be available in your state.
Key takeaways
Reduce the likelihood of a claim by keeping your home in good shape.
- Bundling another policy (like auto insurance) with home insurance results in the steepest savings — on average, up to a 22% discount.
- If you've made any upgrades to the roof, electrical, plumbing or heating systems, be sure to let your insurance company know.
- Installing home security and fire prevention systems can also help lower your premium.
- Even with discounts, some insurers are more expensive than others. Don't be afraid to shop around for a better rate.
8 popular homeowners insurance discounts
Every insurance company is different, but some policy- and policyholder-specific discounts for home insurance include:
Multi-policy discount
This is one of the most common home insurance discounts. You can save quite a bit on home insurance by bundling policies from the same insurer — plus, it’s convenient to pay a single company rather than dealing with multiple carriers. Whether you bundle home and auto insurance, home and motorcycle, or RV insurance and home, a bundling discount of up to 22% may be applicable.
ANNUAL SAVINGS VIA BUNDLING INSURANCE POLICIES
| Bundle | $ Savings |
| Renters and auto | $79 |
| Condo and auto | $121 |
| Homeowners and auto | $145 |
GEICO, USAA, American Family, Allstate, Farmers, State Farm, Nationwide, Progressive, Liberty Mutual, Esurance, Safeco, Erie, MetLife, The Hartford, Amica and Travelers.
Find an insurance bundle today and start saving.
New home construction or new home-buyer discount
You may be eligible for a discount if you’re either a first-time home-buyer or you purchase a newly constructed home. How new the house must be to qualify varies from company to company, and can range from within one year to 10 years.
ANNUAL INSURANCE SAVINGS FOR A NEW BUILD HOME
| Age of Home | Average Premium | $ Savings |
|---|---|---|
| 10-50 Years | $1,648 | - |
| New construction | $966 | $682 |
USAA, American Family, Allstate, Nationwide, Progressive, Liberty Mutual, Esurance, Safeco, The Hartford, Amica and Travelers.
Payments: automatic, pay in full, EFT or paperless discount
You can receive a small discount for paying your insurance premium in full for the policy period, setting up automatic payments, making payments via electronic funds transfer (EFT) or subscribing to paperless account management.
ANNUAL INSURANCE SAVINGS BY PAYMENT METHOD
| Payment Type | Average Premium | $ Savings |
|---|---|---|
| Advance Purchase - 10 Days | $1,447 | $31 |
| Advance Purchase - 7 Days | $1,451 | $27 |
| Paid in Full | $1,453 | $25 |
| Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) | $1,468 | $10 |
American Family, Allstate, Progressive, Liberty Mutual, Safeco and Amica.
Loyalty discount
If you’ve been a claims-free customer with the same company for a few years, you might be eligible for a loyalty discount on your homeowners insurance policy.
American Family, Allstate, Esurance and Amica.
Claims-free discount
Remaining claims-free translates to less perceived risk to insurance companies, and they may reward you for being conservative with your claims and a clean record with a discount.
Learn more about how claims can affect your rate.
ANNUAL INSURANCE SAVINGS FOR CLAIMS-FREE RECORDS
| Average Rate w/ Claims | Average Rate w/ No Claims | $ Savings |
|---|---|---|
| $1,679 | $1,478 | $201 |
USAA, Allstate, State Farm, Nationwide, Liberty Mutual, Esurance, The Hartford, Amica and Travelers.
Retired or mature discount
Insurers consider retired folks over the age of 55 as less risky because they typically spend more time at home — which, in turn, gives them more time to respond to or mitigate potential risks. For example, a senior retiree is more likely to have time to call a plumber for an immediate fix rather than letting it turn into a serious, more expensive repair with which an insurance company would need to get involved to help cover.
Allstate, Liberty Mutual and The Hartford.
Gated community and HOA insurance discount
Homes that are gated or have HOAs overlooking the neighborhood are generally considered safer than homes without.
Nationwide
Occupational discount
Though less common than some of the above discounts, some insurance companies will give a discount to people who work in certain occupations. The most common career-based homeowners insurance discount is for active military members, but some companies also give discounts for teachers and first responders.
Farmers, Liberty Mutual and MetLife.
5 common homeowners insurance home improvement discounts
Making structural improvements, undertaking home renovations or adding safety features to your home will work in your favor if you’re looking for home insurance discounts. Keeping up with the maintenance of your home is viewed favorably by home insurance companies since it improves its longevity — making it less likely they’ll have to make a claims payout. Making some of the following home improvements may be rewarded with a discount or lowered rate.
Discounts for home upgrades
Embarking on upgrades to your home to ensure the longevity of the roof, electrical, heating and plumbing systems signal to your insurance company that you're a diligent homeowner who is invested in your property's wellbeing — which can result in some savings.
Roofing is expensive and costly to repair. If you take steps to use better materials to make your roof hail- and impact-resistant, your insurer may give you a discount. In fact, insurers in Oklahoma are required to offer a discount if your roof meets or exceeds the quality standards set by FORTIFIED.
ANNUAL INSURANCE RATES BY HOME UPGRADE TYPE
| Home Improvement | Average Premium | $ Savings |
|---|---|---|
| Roof Upgrade | $1,357 | $121 |
| Electrical Upgrade | $1,463 | $15 |
| Heating Upgrade | $1,471 | $7 |
| Plumbing Upgrade | $1,472 | $6 |
Allstate, State Farm, Nationwide, Liberty Mutual and Esurance.
Home security system discount
Home security systems allow a much faster response time if your home is trespassed upon or burgled.
Having any sort of burglar alarm system is always a good idea for your home’s security — and depending on your specific insurer, they may reward even basic security measures like deadbolts. Some offer discounts for smart home security devices, as well.
YEARLY INSURANCE DISCOUNTS FOR SECURITY SYSTEMS
| Security System Type | Average Premium | $ Savings |
|---|---|---|
| Burglar Alarm - Central Station | $1,441 | $37 |
| Burglar Alarm - Police Department | $1,450 | $28 |
| Burglar Alarm - Local | $1,464 | $14 |
GEICO, USAA, American Family, Allstate, Farmers, State Farm, Nationwide, Progressive, Liberty Mutual, Esurance, Erie, MetLife, The Hartford, Amica and Travelers.
Fire prevention homeowners insurance discount
While most local municipalities mandate at least one smoke detector in each home, installing more than one fire alarm — especially if your home is large and/or a two-story residence — is a good safeguard for detecting fires as soon as they start. In addition, installing sprinklers and having fire extinguishers around are also beneficial preventive measures that insurance companies will recognize with a lower rate or discount.
YEARLY INSURANCE DISCOUNTS FOR FIRE PREVENTION
| Fire Prevention System | Average Premium | $ Savings |
|---|---|---|
| Sprinklers | $1,410 | $68 |
| Fire Alarm - Central Station | $1,429 | $49 |
| Fire Alarm - Fire Department | $1,441 | $37 |
| Fire Alarm - Local | $1,470 | $8 |
| Smoke Alarm | $1,474 | $4 |
GEICO, Farmers, State Farm, Nationwide, Progressive, Liberty Mutual, Esurance, Erie, MetLife, The Hartford and Travelers.
Smoke-free discount
Being a non-smoker or maintaining a smoke-free household leads to less risk of fire or smoke damage.
Allstate, Farmers and Esurance.
Storm shutters discount
Typically installed in homes in locations vulnerable to hurricanes, having hurricane shutters on your windows can help mitigate some of the damage — namely, they prevent windows from shattering due to wind and flying objects.
Allstate and Esurance
Smart home insurance discounts
The Internet of Things (IoT) is poised to change how our homes operate. Connected homes are increasingly offering insurance customers new ways to protect their property. These changes could lead to a discount on what you pay for home insurance, as well as discounts or rebates on the technology itself. Smart home technology is increasingly being used to automate elements of your home, including your thermostat, home security system and even sensors that can detect water leaks to prevent extensive water damage. Smart locks, video doorbells, Wi-Fi-connected smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors are other great options that insurance providers like to see.
Because smart home products are relatively new and the technology is still evolving, not every carrier will offer such savings, but the following insurers offer some form of insurance discount for smart home technology:
American Family offers up to a 5% discount for homeowners who utilize smart home technology, specifically for leak detection, increasing energy efficiency and home security. This insurer has also partnered with ADT Security Services to provide policyholders with a discount on ADT products, installation and monitoring services.
Partnering with ADT Security Services, Farmers offers customers the chance for a discount on their policy and special pricing for ADT products. By installing monitored smart options in your home, Farmers customers in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Wyoming can see savings.
Hippo also partners with ADT to provide free installation of an ADT smart home security system along with a smart home discount for policyholders in select states.
Working with a variety of smart home technology companies to help you protect your home, these technologies can decrease the number of claims made and potentially save you money on your premium — whether it's water leak detectors or security cameras that connect to your smartphone.
Nationwide offers homeowners discounts for certain smart home protective devices, such as sensors, security systems and smoke detectors. The company recently partnered with home security company Notion to provide a discount on the company's smart home monitoring service. This allows you to monitor CO2 levels or water leaks from your smartphone.
Partnering with smart home security company SimpliSafe to offer security to Progressive customers, those who take advantage of monitored smart home security could see a lower rate.
Travelers is moving headlong into smart home technology, integrating its coverage with smart devices such as Amazon's Echo to help you quickly find information about your policy and to get reminders about routine maintenance that could help keep your rates low. The company even offers a discount on smart home device kits.
Keep in mind that this field will change a great deal as more companies move into the insurtech space. Expect insurance carriers to continue to develop new technology and to seek out new opportunities to provide a better customer experience.
Home insurance discounts: summary
You might have noticed the common theme among these popular home insurance discounts — each factor for which discounts are given affects how your insurance company sees your risk profile. The insurance company's primary concern is the risk their customers represent, as it directly affects their bottom line. If you demonstrate an effort to lessen that risk in any way, reducing the likelihood of your filing a claim, insurers may recognize this effort with cheaper rates, by way of discounts. To save the most money on homeowners insurance, take steps to ensure your home is as safe as possible.
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About The Zebra
The Zebra is not an insurance company. We publish data-backed, expert-reviewed resources to help consumers make more informed insurance decisions.
- The Zebra’s insurance content is written and reviewed for accuracy by licensed insurance agents.
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- The auto insurance rates published on The Zebra’s pages are based on a comprehensive analysis of car insurance pricing data, evaluating more than 83 million insurance rates from across the United States.