Did you know that there are over sixty major national competitors in the U.S. selling homeowner's insurance? With that many companies fighting for your business you'd think finding cheap homeowner's insurance would be easier than it is. Most insurance companies have discount policies in place that will lower your insurance premiums and make high quality homeowner's insurance more affordable than ever before in an effort to steal your business from their competition.

The catch is, your insurance company wants to keep their profits as high as possible. That means they might not offer (and their sales agents might not know) all of the discounts they have available to their customers when you call for an initial quote. As a savvy insurance shopping it's up to you to ask to make sure that you're getting the cheapest homeowner's insurance on the market.

Some common (and not so common) homeowner's insurance discounts include:

• Safety features like deadbolt locks, smoke detectors, electronic security systems and dual paned, reinforced windows that lower the chances of fire and theft destroying the sanctity of your home (and by default the chances of your insurance carrier having to pay for it).

• Age. Contrary to popular belief, insurance agencies aren't just heartless leaches (usually-there are exceptions to every rule). Many offer discounts for homeowners over the age of 55 living on a fixed income that can't afford to pay exorbitant amounts for their homeowner's insurance each month.

• Affiliation. There are many organizations that cut deals with insurance carriers to offer their members cheaper homeowner's insurance. If you belong (or have ever belonged) to an organization or club that offers its members discounts on certain services it would wise to check and see if they include homeowner's insurance on their list of benefits.

• Loss mitigation. Reinforced windows, elevation, backflow valves and a thousand other small home improvement projects that minimize the chances that your home will suffer serious damage if there's a flood, a fire or a windstorm (tornadoes and hurricanes and thunderstorms, oh my!) will send the cost of your homeowner's insurance premiums plummeting.

• Good credit. Yes, your homeowner's insurance premium is yet another part of your life that's going to be affected by that little three digit number-right along with your ability to get a loan, your employability and any of a thousand other factors that are determined by your credit. Between your social security number and your credit score it's really easy to feel like just another number in a sea of millions! Regardless, your credit will have an impact on your homeowner's insurance premiums, so it pays to keep your credit floating above water.

• Higher deductibles. Most people don't consider high deductibles to be a discount, but if you're willing to pay a little bit extra out of pocket for repairs if and when you file a homeowner's insurance claim you'll have a better chance of picking up high quality coverage for a low annual premium. Just don't let your deductible climb higher than the balance of your savings account-a low insurance premium isn't going to do you any good if you can't afford your deductible when disaster strikes.

Keep in mind that this list is just barely scratching the surface of the possibilities floating around out there when it comes to your homeowner's insurance. There are hundreds of other ways to lower your premiums and make quality coverage more affordable, and if you're willing to hunt for those discounts you'll be able to enjoy the cheapest homeowner's insurance in town.