If you are looking for ways to save yourself a little cash or a place where some corners can be cut, I would like to recommend that you do NOT consider reducing your home insurance coverage or getting rid of certain aspects of your policy.  After the year my husband and I had in 2007, I can unequivocally say that homeowner’s insurance can certainly be a life saver.

First, there was the dog.  My family received 2 puppies from one of our friends that we were very excited to receive.  Unfortunately, only a couple weeks after we got them, one was hit by a car and killed.  To make matters worse, the driver pushed for us to file a claim with our homeowner’s insurance in order to pay for the damage.  Thankfully, the insurance covered the entire expense and we didn’t have to pay a single cent out of our own pockets.

A few months later, our house was hit by a terrible storm.  A large branch from a tree fell onto my husband’s car and also pushed into the screen our house.  You can just imagine my husband’s surprise when we heard a loud crack and he opened the door to discover a tree in his face!  In addition to the car, another tree branch fell on one of my garden sheds and completely destroyed it.  Thanks to our house insurance, all of the damage was covered.  The car was covered by our car insurance but, since our house insurance and car insurance are through the same company, we only had to pay one deductible. 

Tree Branch on Car

Branch on the Car and in the House

Finally, shortly before Christmas, our house was broken into.  They thieves stole our television, one of our Xbox 360s, our Nintendo Wii, our Sony Playstation 2 and my husband’s gun.  They also damaged a number of things in their haste to grab the things they were stealing.  As a result, the goblets we used at our wedding were broken as well as some other items.  Once again, our house insurance came to the rescue.

Damage and Mess from Robbery

Until last year, we never had to use our homeowner’s insurance.  But, all it took was one really bad year to force us to stretch our policy as far as it would stretch.  So, even if you haven’t had to use your insurance, don’t even think about trimming the fat with your insurance!  Chances are that it will ultimately save you more than you are paying - I know it has for us!