Although the perks of maintaining a second home getaway may be well worth the expense—it's great to have a place you can go to unwind—you certainly don't want to spend more for vacation home insurance than necessary. As with your regular homeowner's insurance, it pays to do some shopping around to get the best premiums and coverages on your insurance policy for your second home.

Considering Your Options on Vacation Home Insurance
Many of the discounts that apply to your regular homeowner's policy will also apply to your vacation home insurance. For example, you could be in for a fairly substantial discount—as much as 20 percent off the normal policy premium—if you have installed (centralized) anti-theft or smoke alarms. You can also save money by raising the policy deductible—generally, the higher the deductible, the lower the premium you'll pay.

You may also be eligible for discounts on your vacation home insurance if you purchase your policy from the same insurer who sells you your primary home insurance and/or your automobile insurance. You can sometimes get discounts as well if you're a member of some organization.

Your vacation home insurance premiums will be based, in part, on whether or not you plan to rent out your vacation home. Renting your property does open you to greater risk of a liability claim if one of your renters gets hurt while on your property. That could make premiums go up. But having a renter in the home also makes it less likely that thieves will hit your property. (Why go after a house that has someone in it when so many vacation homes are empty?) That lower risk of burglary might impact your rates as well.

Finding the Best Deals on Vacation Home Insurance
A vacation home should be a place to relax and have a good time, so the last thing that you want to do is spend hours on the phone talking to agents to find great rates on vacation home insurance. There's a good alternative—LocalInsurance.com. When you go to LocalInsurance.com just enter the information about your vacation home and your insurance needs, and you'll get back competitive quotes on insurance premiums from your area's leading insurers.

Don't spend more money or more time than necessary to get great insurance rates on your getaway home. Go to LocalInsurance.com to find the second home insurance coverages you need at a price that you can afford to pay.