1) Weather proof your home. If you live in the northern part of the country winters pose a serious threat to your home, especially when you start talking about snow and your roof. When snow and roof pile up on top of your house it never ends well. Never. Make sure your roof is in good repair, the insulation is adequate and your house's exterior is ready and able to stand up to whatever Mother Nature throws at it.



A word to the wise: You may want to apply this principle to your basement too.

Even if you don't live in the north Mother Nature is still your home's worst enemy, so make sure your windows are strong enough to stand up to windstorms (especially if you live on Tornado Alley). Your homeowners insurance policy will pick up the damages, but you don't want to have to deal with the mess that always goes along with the outside coming in.

2) How's your home security? Believe it or not, your house might not be as safe as you think it is. Today's burglars are smarter than ever, and quite frankly most dollar store doorknobs aren't up to the challenge! Save yourself a bundle on your home insurance by installing a dead bolt on your front door and making sure you've got locks on your windows. That includes your back doors too! You might not be guarantee to keep all the creepy crawlies out, but you can at least make them work a little harder for it.

Another thing you might consider that paves the way to saving 20% or more on your homeowners insurance almost immediately is the installation of an electronic home security system-especially if you can get one that connects directly to local law enforcement. These are a little pricey to purchase and install, but the annual fees are usually more than reasonable-and don't the savings to your pocket and your peace of mind make the investment more than worth it?

3) Double up your insurance policies! When you combine your auto insurance and your homeowners insurance under a single umbrella policy you can save big on both. And if you play your cards right you might even be able to toss in your boat and your vacation home for fantastic savings all the way across the board!

4) Shop around. Even if you've found a company that you really like. Homeowner's insurance companies know that you don't want to have to shop around once you've gotten settled, and they'll take advantage of that ruthlessly. You might be surprised to discover how much money you can save just by switching home insurance companies, even when you have the same old house.

So much for customer loyalty, right?