Budget Concerns: How Much Insurance is Enough?

2 Ways That Location Can Affect Property Insurance Costs

10 November 2021

Dustin Duncan

A home is perhaps the most expensive purchasing decision that most people will make in their lifetime. Understandably, homeowners often take their time to decide what's best when securing their future home. A factor that typically influences a homeowner's purchasing decision is the home's location. While homeowners may desire a particular location due to advantages such as proximity to shopping centers, friends, family, and schooling, there are also financial advantages that homeowners should consider as well.

A critical component of the home purchasing process is the purchase of property insurance. While many homeowners know that a home's location has a significant impact on the home's market value, homeowners often don't realize that the home's location can also influence the home's property insurance costs. Learning to manage location factors when searching for a home can help homeowners save on property insurance costs. If you'd like to learn more, here are two ways that location can affect property insurance costs.

Close Proximity to Bodies of Water Can Increase Property Insurance Costs

A home's proximity to bodies of water such as oceans, lakes, and rivers has a significant impact on the home's market value. Coastal living is widely known to be more expensive than living inland. However, the home's market value isn't the only cost affected by its proximity to bodies of water. Property insurance costs rise in tandem with market value due to concerns such as humidity, rain, flooding, hurricanes, and more being a much greater concern with coastal properties. In coastal areas, these hazards are expected to occur more frequently and be more severe. Dangers such as these can cause water damage and threaten homeowners' lives, increasing the risk to insurance providers and necessitating increased insurance premiums.

Close Proximity to a Fire Station Can Reduce Property Insurance Costs

Another frequently overlooked factor that impacts property insurance costs is a home's proximity to a fire department. The closer your home is to a fire station, the lower the likelihood that your home will face extensive damage due to fire-related incidents. Due to their nearby location, firefighters should be able to arrive at the home quickly and douse the offending flames before extensive damage is done. This advantage increases the home's overall safety, reducing the risk to insurance providers and enabling homeowners to access reduced insurance premiums.

Property insurance is a critical aspect of the home buying experience. Fortunately, by choosing a strategic location, homeowners can maximize the cost-effectiveness of their property insurance.

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