3 ways to save on homeowners insurance

You can save money on homeowners insurance if you know how. Discounts from your insurance company are available for a variety of reasons, ranging from the type of building material used to build your home to how close you live to a fire station. Here are 3 ways you can save money on your homeowners policy:

Consider insurance consequences when buying a home. If you're looking at buying a home, think about the cost of insuring the home. A newer home's electrical, heating and plumbing systems, and overall structure are likely to be in better condition than those of an older home. This can lead to a discount on your premiums.

Also consider the construction of the home and your geographical location. If you live on the East Coast, you'll want the house to be able to stand up to wind damage; on the West Coast, you need to keep earthquakes in mind.

Insure your home, not the land. Although your home and its contents are at risk from fire, theft, windstorms and other perils, the land your house sits on is not. Don't include the value of the land in deciding how much homeowners insurance you need to buy.

Improve security and safety. Items such as deadbolt locks, burglar alarms and smoke detectors often bring discounts of 5% each, depending on the company. Your insurance company may also offer a significant discount of 15% or 20% if you install a sophisticated home-security system. If you're thinking about buying such a system, check with your insurer to see which systems they recommend and which will earn you a discount.