Every year I dread two of my two biggest household expenses plopping through the letter box. That's right, the house insurance and the car insurance, which unfortunately both fall at the same time. It is tempting to just sign up for another year with the same insurance agencies to get it out of the way, but you could end up out of pocket if you do so. In fact, most of the time, insurance companies really do rip you off with these 'convenience' premiums.
Don't leave it until the last minute to renew, as this does not give you the time to research other options. There are two ways of saving money on your home and car insurance.
Firstly, the obvious, shop around. Many insurance companies have online quotes now, so it is easy to get a quote from a range of insurers. Make sure that they will accept any non-claim discounts from your previous insurers and also make sure that they offer you the same if not a better level of cover.
Secondly, talk to your current company especially about your home insurance costs. This year I went through the exercise of carefully analysing everything that I was covered for. For my contents, I literally went through each room calculating the approximate cost of everything I owned and was surprised to find that I was over insured which helped to bring down the premium. I also decided to accept a higher excess which also reduced the cost.