GET PAID to have home insurance. How cheap do you think you can get home insurance?

Prepare for a shock, the current record is being PAID £67 to take it out.

It may sound ridiculous but you can actually MAKE MONEY by taking cover for your valuables.

And its not just a one off, hundreds of people have reported back to me after following my four-step system they're now PAID.

Admittedly, not everyone will end up in profit, but you should still be able to dramatically reduce the cost.

In a nutshell, to do it you first use speedy short-cuts to get 100s of quotes in ten minutes.

Then the hidden gem is to grab secret cashback on top.

THE CARDINAL SIN

Yet even if you don't go the whole hog, never just allow your insurance to renew automatically. You'll usually be MASSIVELY overcharged, as companies fine you for apathy.

They know that if you're not bothering to check, it gives them an open invitation to hike prices. Shockingly, if you apply to your existing insurer as a NEW customer you'll often get cover at a fraction of the price.

Plus, even if you're not at renewal, you can give it a go. Provided you haven't claimed, many insurers allow policies to be cancelled with a refund, minus a small fee.

STEP 1: WHAT DO YOU NEED?

Home insurance comes in two parts: buildings and contents. Anyone can get contents insurance, but buildings cover is only if you own the freehold. For leaseholders, the landlord will usually pay to insure the building, but check. Renters needn't bother as buildings cover is the landlord's responsibility. As a rough rule of thumb, turn your home upside down, and everything that falls out is covered by contents insurance, and anything else by buildings.

If you need both, getting it jointly stops either insurer passing the buck.

To keep costs low, always ensure you minimise the risk category you'll be in too; such as being part of a neighbourhood watch scheme or fitting security locks on windows.

STEP 2: SPEEDILY COMPARE THE MARKET

To find the cheapest deal, bash your details into price comparison websites. They then automatically zip it to scores of insurers' and brokers' websites and report back masses of quotes in seconds.

Yet no comparison site searches every insurance company. Who is covered often depends on comparison sites' commercial relaltionships with individual insurers. Therefore, the key is using the right sites, in the right order, to get the MAXIMUM search in the minimum time.

Having analysed them, my top three, in order are Confused, Comparethemarket and Moneysupermarket. Together, they search 81 insurers and brokers.

Yet it's also currently worth adding Direct Line, as it bars comparison sites from including it, and is currently offering 50 per cent off for contents insurance.

Then go direct to the site of the insurer or broker that came top and double check the quote is accurate. Also ensure the policy fits your exact needs see www.moneysavingexpert.com/homeinsurance

STEP 3: GRAB HIDDEN CASHBACK

Now you know which companies came top, it's time to see if you can get BIG BUCKS back by buying the policy via specialist cashback websites.

These sites, like Quidco or Topcashback, get 'affiliate commission' if you click from them to an insurer and then buy the product. Yet unike other sites, their way of persuading you to go through them is they give YOU some or all of the cash.

And insurers are big payers at up to £120 a go, as they hope customers will stick with them. This is why some people get MORE cashback than the policy costs.

So take the three top insurers from your comparison, to see if and how much cashback you can get. To find which cashback site pays the most, do a cashback site comparison at www.moneysavingexpert.com/maxcashback .

Crucially, don't automatically pick the deal with the most cashback. Choose the overall cheapest when you factor in the quote and the cashback.

Let me know how much you save at notw@moneysavingexpert.com .

AHEAD OF THE CURVE

I'VE dreamt of writing this headline for years: "Payment Protection Insurance to be banned."

And finally this week, a Government regulator has found the teeth to take action. The Competition Commission has ruled, from 2010, lenders can no longer sell this insurance with loans or credit cards. They'll have to wait at least a week after the initial sale.

You may be surprised to hear me cheer. After all, PPI should be welcomed given today's economic woes, it is designed to cover repayments in the event of illness or unemployment. Yet its not the product, but the way banks have sold it that's the problem.

Possibly millions have been BULLIED or misled into buying policies costing up to ten times too much; and they're often worthless because lenders sometimes fail to check if you're suitable. This isn't suprising as lenders usually rake in far more profit from PPI than the loans themselves.

But now it's official - bank-based loan insurance is PANTS. Yet sadly, these measures won't happen until 2010, so let me make it clear immediately. DON'T BUY PPI FROM YOUR BANK! I've campaigned before on this page to urge people to reclaim this money, as I believe there could be up to £10 billion of missold policies out there. And I'm pleased huge numbers have reported getting £1,000s back.

This news adds huge weight to anyone's attempt to reclaim. So if you've got a loan or a credit card, check now if you were sold insurance. If you were you'll find full details of what counts as misselling and free template letters to send off at www.moneysavingexpert.com/ppi

TV Money Guru Martin Lewis is the creator of the Consumer Revenge website www.MoneySavingExpert.comwhich is packed with info on how to get more money in your pocket.

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