Pennsylvania has some of the best homeowner’s insurance rate drops in the country when the deductible is increased.

Raising a $500 deductible to $2,000 results in a 20 percent savings on the average annual homeowner’s insurance premium in Pennsylvania, according to a recent report by insuranceQuotes.com. That’s fifth best in the U.S., with the leading state being North Carolina at 40 percent savings.

The percentages increase as the deductible is raised, boosting Pennsylvania to fourth-best in the country. When the deductible is raised to $3,000, the average annual premium in Pennsylvania drops 24 percent. It drops 33 percent when the deductible is $5,000.

Raising an insurance deductible can be a smart move if you can afford to pay it when disaster strikes. It can also be an encouragement to use homeowner’s insurance for what it’s mainly meant for: catastrophes instead of smaller problems such as leaking windows. It’s a forced way to make sure you don’t make small claims.

New York near national average

Nationally, raising a homeowner’s insurance deductible from $500 to $2,000 lowers the average annual premium by 16 percent. Savings range from 4 to 40 percent, depending on where you live, according to recent report by insuranceQuotes.com.

Increasing a $500 homeowner’s insurance deductible to $3,000 lowers the national average premium by almost 20 percent, and raising it to $5,000 lowers it almost 28 percent nationally.

The insurance deductible drops in New York state mirror the national average. New York homeowners see an average premium drop 16 percent when their deductible is raised to $2,000, a 19 percent drop at $3,000, and a 28 percent drop at $5,000.

North Carolina leads nation

Insurance rates are regulated by states, and some states allow lower rates with higher deductibles. North Carolina is the best state to raise a homeowner’s insurance deductible, with a 40 percent savings when raised from $500 to $2,000 or $3,000, and a 44 percent savings with a $5,000 deductible.

Other states with more strict insurance laws, such as Indiana and Texas, only offered 6 percent in savings when increasing a deductible to $2,000 — showing that it may not be worth the extra financial risk for homeowners in those states. Hawaii had the lowest savings for a $2,000 deductible: 4 percent.

The average annual premium was $1,034 in 2012, according to the latest data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. The most common deductible is $500, according to insuranceQuotes.

Hurricane deductibles may be hard to raise

Homeowner’s insurance rates vary by carrier and location, including typically higher and separate rates in disaster areas. Hurricane insurance in Florida and other Gulf Coast states is an additional cost to a regular homeowner’s insurance policy, coming with its own deductible.

Raising a hurricane deductible, for instance, may be difficult.

Disaster deductibles are based on a percentage of the insured value of the property, ranging from 1 to 5 percent of the insured value. A home valued at $100,000 with a 5 percent hurricane deductible would equate to a $5,000 deductible if a hurricane hit.

A homeowner can try to negotiate how much the hurricane deductible is, but their options may be limited if they live in a high-risk area. The hurricane deductible is separate from the homeowner’s regular insurance policy — for fire, theft and other non-hurricane damage — though the homeowner should be able to increase the deductible for their regular policy.

Keep deductible in bank

Jumping from a $500 insurance deductible to a $5,000 one can result in big savings — from 13 percent in Hawaii to 44 percent in North Carolina — but being unable to pay that $5,000 can lead to an insurer dropping the policyholder.

Also, if your home burns to the ground, for example, the mortgage will still need to be paid while the home is rebuilt. A homeowner who can’t afford a $5,000 deductible could be $5,000 short when it came time to pay the contractor.

An insurer will deduct $5,000 from the check it gives a homeowner to make repairs after a claim, and if they can’t afford to pay that $5,000 from their own pocket to help make repairs, they could be dropped by the insurer if the repairs aren’t made.

Or if they don’t drop the policyholder, higher premiums could be coming in the next year. Instead of dropping a customer, the insurance company could increase the premium for the next five years until the homeowner shows five years of no claims.

Aaron Crowe is a freelance journalist who covers insurance and personal finance for a variety of websites, including his website at CashSmarter.com.