Among the many important life choices you’re ever going to make, purchasing a house is likely your greatest investment. So much time, effort and money goes into building the perfect house, somewhere you can relax and truly feel at home.

Naturally, you want to make sure that this beautiful place you’ve put so much time and care into created is adequately protect by a home insurance plan that will cover your costs in the event of an accident or environmental damage.

It is a given that the value of your home plays a big role in determining your insurance premiums, however, many homeowners don’t realize that there are also a multitude of other factors that can affect home insurance premiums.

Here are three common factors that affect your home insurance premiums that you may not have realized:

Trampolines, Treehouses, Swimming Pools

You’re probably thinking that this is a strange collection of personal property items which may have nothing to do with one another. Probably you’d file them under recreational investments. The legal system, however, calls them ‘attractive nuisances’. These are items located on your property that commonly attract the attention of children and that could cause them injury.

While the child would have to trespass on your property to get himself/herself injured in the first place, you will likely still be held accountable should there be any accidents. As a result, the cost of personal liability in your home insurance plan increases with every addition of an ‘attractive nuisance’ on your property. Other examples include abandoned vehicles, discarded building materials, etc.

The Breed of Your Pet Dog

Dogs are wonderful additions to the family. However, they do not always treat strangers with the same amount of affection as their masters. Pets that have a generally higher risk of injuring neighbours drive up the value of your personal liability premiums. Unfortunately, select dog breeds that have been branded as persistently aggressive and too dangerous to insure, being blacklisted by various insurance companies. Commonly blacklisted dog breeds include Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, German Shepherds, and more.

Your Neighbourhood and Geographical Area

Insurance companies are likely to give more expensive insurance plans to homeowners who live in certain locals that have increased likelihood of theft and vandalism, increased likelihood of devastation by natural calamities (such as earthquakes and flooding), and/or decreased access to fire stations. If your location threatens your home with the risk of damage or loss (e.g., if your house is situated near a fault line, coastal areas and/or a rough neighbourhood), then home insurance companies are going to charge you a higher premium for coverage.