When you contact an insurance agent and give him/her the details of your home and the amount of coverage you want, you will probably have to wait for a few days or longer to find out what the cost of such a policy will be. This is not the case when you shop for insurance online.

Just about all of the insurance providers with a website will give you an instant home insurance quote once you enter your information. It is free to request a quote for the cost of the premium, so you would be wise to request several quotes so that you can compare the rates and coverage options.

Homeowners that shop around each year and request free home insurance quotes from various insurers are able to save money on their policies. Requesting a quote does not place you under any obligation to purchase the policy.

It is also a way in which you can educate yourself about home insurance and learn valuable money saving tips in order to get the most affordable insurance with the best coverage. When you compare the quotes side by side, there is bound to be one that is cheaper than all the rest for the same type of policy.

Take notice of the types of questions you must answer when requesting an instant homeowners insurance quote online. One of these talks about the types of safety features you have installed in your home. The more features you have the lower the quote will be.

If you really want to see what kind of difference they make, you can request a quote with and without the features, such as smoke detectors and dead bolts on the doors. In this way you can see how cost effective it will be to take the necessary steps to have them installed and then start looking for homeowner insurance. The installation is not costly and will save you money year after year.

All insurance companies require you to have a deductible. This is a set amount of money that you will have to pay for repairs before the insurance policy comes into play. The instant home insurance quote will have a standard deductible of $500, but you can lower your premium costs by requesting a deductible of a higher amount.

You have to have some information ready to submit when you request an instant home insurance quote online. You will need to know the age of your home, its size in square footage and the type of materials used to build the foundation walls and roof. You will also have to tell your primary source of heat and in some cases the type of flooring in your home.

When calculating the amount of coverage that you need for cheap homeowners insurance, do not simply think in terms of what you paid for the home. You have to think in terms of what it will cost you to rebuild the home at today’s prices, which may give you a significantly higher price.

Keep in mind that the instant home insurance quote you receive may not be the actual price of the policy once you start making changes or if you sit down with an agent to discuss your insurance needs. The quote is simply a guideline to give you an idea of the company’s rates and offers in an insurance policy.