Homeowners insurance is a useful safety net to help you recover when your property is affected by fires, storms, or other calamities. But you'll naturally want to keep your monthly payments affordable.

Any insurance policy can be modified based on changes at the residence. Homeowners should be aware that even some seemingly innocuous changes can ramp up your rates.

Outside features

Several exterior features have the potential to increase the cost of your homeowners insurance, since they make it more likely that someone could be injured on your property. Insurers often consider these features to be "attractive nuisances," since children might sneak onto your property to use them. You may need to purchase extra liability insurance to cover any incidents stemming from these features.

Swimming pools can easily increase your homeowners insurance costs. Tedford Insurance, a company based in Jenks, Oklahoma, says rates for homes with pools are higher due to the risk of accidental drowning. You'll also want to ensure that the pool has proper safety measures, such as fencing.

Trampolines will also result in higher insurance rates due to the higher risk of injury, and some policies will even exclude properties with a trampoline on the premises. Treehouses raise concerns about the possibility of falls or poorly maintained structures.

Some homeowners may install a zip line for a unique and fun yard feature. Naturally, insurers may be worried about liability issues resulting from a zip line and require that it be excluded from your coverage. As with certain other outside amenities, you'll then have to purchase liability insurance to cover this item.

Other factors

You may notice changes to your homeowners insurance costs even if you haven't made any substantial changes to the property. The increase in your rates may be due to changes in your neighborhood instead. Shannon Ireland, writing for the real estate site Zillow, says your rates may go up if your neighborhood has been walloped by an unusually high number of storms or natural disasters, a nearby fire station has closed down, or other developments have put your home at a higher risk of damage.

Rates may also creep up as your home gets older. As time marches on, your roof, mechanical systems, and other building materials will be less likely to resist damage and more likely to break down. The cost of replacement materials will also increase over time.

Upgrading your home may change the expense needed for any potential repairs. Putting on an addition or otherwise increasing the value of your home may cause an insurer to raise your rates, since it will cost more to rebuild after any damage. Jamie Wiebe, writing for the National Association of Realtors, says changing your exterior may affect your rates if this action adds costlier materials or makes the exterior less likely to resist fire or weather-related damage.

Dog breeds that are considered to be more dangerous may cause your homeowners insurance to go up. These breeds typically include Akitas, German shepherds, pit bulls, and Rottweilers. Tedford Insurance says you'll likely have to get separate coverage for exotic animals such as chimpanzees or pythons.

While insurers generally won't offer any exclusions for gun owners, they do want to make sure that the firearms are stored safely. Your rates may go up if a gun is discharged in the home, either accidentally or intentionally.

If you start running a business from your home, your office may include computers or other expensive materials. An insurer might increase your rates due to the added value of these items, and they may recommend separate liability coverage for certain businesses.

Other valuable belongings may also result in higher rates. For example, you may want to adjust your policy to make sure your wedding rings and other expensive jewelry is protected.

If you own a vacation home, be prepared for higher insurance costs. Wiebe says that since these properties tend to be unoccupied for much of the year, they are more vulnerable to theft as well as damage that goes unnoticed for several weeks or months. As such, vacation homes are more expensive to insure.

Your credit score can also affect your insurance costs. Craig Dinofrio, also writing for the National Association of Realtors, says you'll pay higher premiums if your score is low. If you miss a few payments or otherwise get penalized, your insurance costs can easily increase as a result.

Adjusting your costs

Before making major modifications to your home, check with your insurer to see how it might affect rates. They may be able to recommend ways to minimize any changes or even reduce your costs, such as upgrades that improve safety or enhance your home's resistance to damage.

Don't try to conceal any changes to your home to save money on your insurance. When an insurer finds out that you have not reported a potential hazard, they might scrap your policy or refuse to cover a claim.

Ireland says you might be able to save on your homeowners insurance by looking at different providers at least once a year. You might be able to find a company that assesses risk differently from your current provider, helping reduce your monthly payments.

The company may be able to offer certain discounts, such as lower costs through bundling your homeowners and auto insurance. You can also bring your payments down by increasing the deductible, although you shouldn't raise it beyond an amount you'll be comfortable paying out of pocket.