Making Your Car and Home Insurance Friendly

Our homes and our vehicles are huge investments. Even though conventional wisdom tells us that our cars drop dramatically in value the moment we drive them off the lot, and although the current economy doesn’t look too promising for homes increasing in value anytime soon, there are some things that we can do to maximize the resale value of both. How so? By making our vehicles and our homes insurance friendly so that anyone looking to buy them from us will be able to recognize that extra value. Step one is to compare auto and home insurance rates to find out where each one stands. Once you do that, you can begin to make necessary improvements.

Making Your Car Insurance Friendly
Do the following to ensure your car is eligible for the maximum number of discounts when you shop for auto insurance quotes.

• Install an anti-theft alarm. If your car is of high value, you can even go a step further by installing a proximity alarm that’ll go off if the car is touched, bumped, or if someone gets too close to it.

• Install wheel locks to prevent your tires and rims from being stolen. This is common for more expensive cars with custom alloy wheels that can fetch a small fortune if stolen.

• Upgrade your vehicle for daytime running lights. Not all cars are factory equipped with daytime running lights, but installing them after the fact is a possibility. It’s also a great investment that makes you more visible during the day and can save you a chunk of change when you go to compare auto insurance quotes.

Making Your Home Insurance Friendly
The following is a list of upgrades that you should consider for your home, each of which will reflect in lower estimates when you compare home insurance prices.

• Deadbolts. While this comes standard in most homes, if your home doesn’t have a deadbolt on the front door it’s imperative that you have one installed. Failure to do so leaves you vulnerable to break-ins and a higher insurance cost.

• Install a burglar alarm. This ensures the insurer that you won’t be filing any claims for lost property due to burglary.

• Update your home’s smoke detectors. In many cases you can tie in your smoke detectors with a burglar alarm for maximum protection and insurance savings, but it’s not absolutely necessary to combine both. Just be sure your home’s smoke detectors are upgraded and installed in every room of your home.

When all’s said and done, compare auto and home insurance rates again—this time including all of the upgrades you’ve made. You should see a significant decrease in the amount of money you’re paying out of pocket. Likewise, both your home and your vehicle will be resale ready if the time ever comes when you’re ready to part ways and upgrade.