There are many ways to get a discount on your home-insurance costs, but one of the easiest methods is to increase your home's security against potential intruders. Listed below are two home-security upgrades that you can have installed in your home to lower your home-insurance costs.

Security System

The single easiest home-security upgrade to utilize if you want to lower your home-insurance premiums is to simply have a security system installed on your property. Not only will this system protect your home by notifying the security company and the authorities when someone is breaking into your home, but some systems will also monitor your property for signs of a fire and notify emergency responders if one is detected.

In addition, many would-be intruders are often deterred by the sight of a sign stating that a house is protected by a security system and will simply move on to a home that poses less of a risk to them. Since a security system will make your home safer from intruders and fire, this option will often result in a larger home-insurance discount than other security upgrades would. Many insurance companies offer discounts of up to 20% if you install a monitored security system. A monitored system is one that notifies both you and the insurance company when a sensor is triggered.

Impact Windows

Another way to increase your home security and potentially lower your insurance costs is to install impact windows. Impact windows are a great way to keep people out of your home by securing your home's biggest weak point: your windows.

Impact windows use two panes of glass and an adhesive film sandwiched between those panes of glass. The adhesive is designed to hold any broken glass in place, which makes it much harder for an intruder to get into your home undetected, as breaking the two panes of glass and getting through the adhesive film to access the home is going to make more noise and take longer than simply breaking a normal window. Since this type of glass will reduce the chances of a successful break-in and the chances of your having to file an insurance claim to replace your stolen property, having impact windows can often result in insurance discounts. 

Contact your insurance agent to discuss what upgrades and additions to your home would result in a discount on your home insurance policy, or talk to multiple companies, such as DJM Insurance Agency, if you would like to see who might give the best discounts. In many cases, upgrades that protect your home from intruders, such as security systems and impact windows, can result in nice discounts on your policy.