Before you can settle on that house you want to buy, you will have to provide proof of home insurance. Your lender will require it, and truthfully, it is in your best interest - unless you can afford to buy another one with cash. Like any other product, though, there are a wide variety in prices and content, so it will pay you to shop around. As you do, here are some things that will help you choose a good one.

Calculate How Much Insurance Is Needed

Before you even start to find out how much home insurance will cost, you need to know just how much you need. This means you will need to take several things into consideration in order to arrive at how much you need - or want. You will buy home insurance at different levels of protection. Some policies may only cover loss in the event of a dozen possible situations, but more expensive ones may provide for 18 or more types of potential disasters.

There is also a difference in covering a home's value and providing a replacement value and you will need to select one or the other. Generally, if you insure the value of your home, you will only receive up to that amount. If your home or possessions, however, are replaced - this is better. For instance, assume you had a wide screen TV that is now 5 years old. By choosing to receive the value, you would only get the equivalent of a 5-year-old wide screen TV. Replacement value, on the other hand, would ensure that you received a new wide screen TV of about the same cost as what you paid for the original one.

In order to cover the value of the contents of the house, this will mean a careful inventory. For best results, it means using a digital camera, or movie camera and go through the house completely. Get each item so that the quality of the item can be seen - not just described. Also, go through the closets, the cupboards and everything.

Shop Around

Once you calculate how much home insurance you need, then you need to shop around. Many homeowners do not take the time to look around at the various offers and end up paying much more than is necessary. Some home insurance companies will charge a lot more for the very same product. By getting several quotes first, you will be able to pick and choose not just the cheapest one - but the one that actually will be the best for your situation.

Consider Buying From Your Car Insurance Dealer

This could be a good way to knock off a few more bucks each month. Most insurers will give you a discount if you carry more than one policy with them. Before you sign, though, you still will want to do a comparison with offers from other insurers. It still may be possible to find a much better deal some place else. You will never know how much

you could save each month, until you look around.

After you get your estimates, you may need to make some adjustments in order to bring the cost down. Be sure that you do not add the value of the land (no one is going to steal it), and you may want to increase your deductible up to $1,000.