The first way to understand house insurance is to look at it from the insurers point of view. They look at the risk. If you are able to reduce the risk, you should be able to reduce the premiums that you will need to pay. View your house from a burglar's point of view. After listing these measures take steps to include them.
Police are able to help, consider joining or starting a neighbourhood watch scheme.
If these measures are taken you are most certainly going to be entitled to a reduced or cheaper premium. They offer this as an extra and may often may not be the best value for money. Sometimes a special mortgage deal may compel this, but is not the case in most insurance is optional, however it maybe stipulation by many mortgage lenders. If one looks at it from the lenders point of view it actually makes sense. The lenders security on the mortgage is the property and its buildings.