We understand you may want to cut back on a few things, but one thing you should not skimp on is quality insurance.

Cheaper insurance options could save you some cash in the short term but will usually end up costing more in the long run, especially if you aren’t sufficiently covered.

You can still get affordable cover without compromising on quality.

Here are some savings tips to help you enjoy affordable car, home contents and building insurance.

Tips to get the best car insurance premiums:

• Consolidate your cover: The easiest way to save on insurance is to combine your car, home contents and buildings insurance with one insurer.
• Tracking device: Recently had one fitted? Then you could get a discount on your motor insurance premium.
• Lower powered, lower value, low-theft risk? If this sounds like your vehicle, these factors could mean a lower premium.
• Raise your excess payment: The higher your excess, the lower your premium. When getting vehicle insurance quotes, you will be asked to select the voluntary excess sum you’re prepared to pay in the event of a claim. Insurers enforce a compulsory minimum excess, but you can choose to increase it. This would mean paying more out of your pocket if there is a claim, so make sure you can afford it.
• Pay for smaller damages yourself: Keep a rainy day fund for smaller nicks and dents, and you will manage to stay claim free for longer and get a reduction in your premium.
• Regular driver: Make sure the correct person is noted in your policy as your risk factor is determined by the person who most often drives the car. This includes the person’s age, gender, marital status and licence information.
• Consider third party insurance only: This is the minimum amount of cover you can get for your vehicle, making it the cheapest option.

Tips to get more affordable home contents insurance:

• Beef up your home security: Add burglar bars and an alarm system or consider living in a secure complex. Improved security could lower your premium considerably.
• Do a home inventory: The insured sum of your home contents should represent the new replacement value. If this sum is overly inflated, you will pay a higher premium without any extra benefit if you claim. Rather calculate it accurately, item by item, room by room, instead of guessing.
• Higher excess equals a lower premium: This is another way to save if you can put some money away to use in the event of a claim.
• Correct descriptions: Ensure your address and the type of construction of the roof and walls are accurately noted in the policy as these are used as rating factors that could affect your premium.

Tips for budget building insurance:

• Total value insured amount: Find out the current building replacement costs of all structures on the premises to check if you might be over-insured and paying higher premiums than necessary.
• Building materials: Note the address of the property and the type of construction of the roof and walls in the policy. Again, these are used as risk rating factors.
• Choose to pay a higher excess: Opting to pay a higher excess sum in the event of a claim would result in a lower premium.

Check in regularly with your insurer to save.

It’s important to do a regular audit of your lifestyle, profile, and assets as these are factors that determine how much you are charged every month.

Things change all the time – you may have installed extra security measures at home and not informed your insurer, changed jobs, married, or had a child move to university. Simply by updating your profile, you may find your premium decreases, or that your risk profile has changed.

Remember, a car depreciates in value every year. Make sure the insured amount reflects its reasonable market value. This is vital because if you lodge a claim you will only be paid either the insured amount, or the reasonable market value, whichever is lower.

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 https://www.moneyweb.co.za/in-depth/santam-specialist/save-responsibly-on-your-insurance-premium-without-compromising-your-cover/