Regardless of how you've found the home owner insurance companies from which you're considering purchasing your home owner insurance policy (in person or on the Internet), make sure the home owner insurance company has asked for an inventory of your home. Home owner insurance companies want to know exactly what it is they're insurance before they offer a quote. If you accept a quote and purchase a home owner insurance policy from a company that doesn't know what it's insuring, you may find yourself high and dry if you ever need your home owner insurance policy, i.e., your home catches fire or is burglarized.

Going along with the above, always read the fine print. After you've been offered a home owner insurance quote, find out exactly what is covered, what isn't, and what you may need to purchase additional coverage for. Some home owner insurance companies may not cover everything in your home; some may. A deciding factor for you will be whether or not you're willing to move your valuable to another location (safety deposit box in a bank), or purchase additional coverage. You may be offered a cheaper home owner insurance quote if you decide to relocate your expensive valuables, or if you purchase additional coverage; however, you must take into account the extra cost of storing your things elsewhere, or the additional coverage.

In the end, always talk with a live person. Ask questions about what you don't understand. If you don't feel comfortable with the answers or with any of the home owner insurance quotes you've been offered thus far – don't settle. Keep looking.