Keep a Clean Claims History
This is the foundation everything else is built on. Insurers pull your claims history from a shared database (CLUE), and it follows you even if you switch companies. Staying claim-free for three to five years typically earns a discount of 5% to 15%, and some insurers stack an extra 1% for every additional claim-free year. The flip side matters just as much: filing a single claim can raise your premium 9% to 20%, and you'll lose your claim-free discount for years. That's why it's often smarter to pay for minor repairs — a small roof leak, a cracked window — out of pocket rather than filing a claim that barely clears your deductible.
Update Your Roof — and Tell Your Agent
A new roof is one of the single biggest levers you can pull. Most homeowners see a 5% to 35% reduction in their premium after replacing an aging roof, with the national average landing around 20%. The exact discount depends on material and shape — impact-resistant Class 4 shingles, metal, and tile roofs tend to earn the largest discounts, especially in hail- or hurricane-prone areas, where some insurers offer up to 30–40% off for "fortified" or wind-mitigation-certified roofs. The catch: insurers won't apply this automatically. You need to proactively notify your agent after the work is done and send documentation — contractor invoice, permits, and any material certifications — so they can re-rate your policy.
Maintain Good Credit
Yes, this one surprises people — but in most states, insurers use a "credit-based insurance score" (a cousin of your FICO score) as part of underwriting, because data shows a correlation between credit history and the likelihood of filing a claim. The gap is significant: homeowners with poor credit can pay 70% to over 130% more than those with excellent credit for identical coverage, while excellent credit can shave 20% or more off your base rate. If your credit needs work, focus on paying bills on time and keeping credit card balances low — the same habits that help your regular credit score also help your insurance score. One exception: California, Maryland, and Massachusetts prohibit insurers from using credit history to set home insurance rates, so this doesn't apply if you're in one of those states.
Carry a Higher Deductible
Raising your deductible shifts more risk to you, but it also tells the insurer you're less likely to file small claims — and they reward that. Moving from a $500 to a $1,000 deductible typically saves 5% to 25%, and pushing further to $2,500 can save closer to 20% or more, depending on your insurer and location (real dollar savings often land in the $200–$500/year range). The rule of thumb: only raise your deductible as high as you could comfortably pay out of pocket without financial strain if something happened tomorrow.
Bundle Your Policies
Combining home and auto (or home, auto, and life) with the same carrier is one of the most reliable discounts available. Multi-policy discounts typically run 10% to 25%, averaging around 15% nationally. Beyond the percentage discount, many bundled policies also let you pay a single deductible if one event — like a hailstorm — damages both your home and car. That said, the discount percentage alone can be misleading: a big discount on an overpriced base rate can still cost more than a smaller discount from a cheaper insurer, so it's worth comparing bundled and separate quotes side by side. This is exactly the kind of comparison an independent agency is built for.
Install a Security and Fire System
A professionally monitored security system typically earns a 5% to 20% discount, with the largest discounts going to systems that include 24/7 monitoring, fire/smoke detection, and cellular backup — not just a local alarm or self-monitored app. A basic, unmonitored alarm might only get you 2–5%. To claim the discount, ask your monitoring provider for a "certificate of alarm" or UL-listing certificate and send it to your insurance agent — most companies won't apply it automatically.
The bottom line: None of these discounts are mutually exclusive — they stack. A homeowner with a claims-free record, a newer roof, good credit, a $2,500 deductible, a bundled auto policy, and a monitored security system could realistically be looking at 40–60%+ off the "base" rate an insurer would otherwise quote. The single best move, though, is simply asking: many of these discounts require you to request them and submit documentation — insurers rarely apply them automatically, even when you qualify.