Home Insurance Discussion

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New Home Insurance Article

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• I know it has been referred to on previous insurance threads but another reminder cannot go amiss.
  Buying the cheapest insurance sounds obviously good. But beware. Just because the marketing morons at many insurers sell only on price, there is nevertheless more to it than that (as the FSA is waking up to - I note Martin is FSA authorised so I assume he is aware that they have expressed concerns to the industry about selling solely on price and whether this is in line with the principle of treating the customer fairly).
  Do you want a claim service that pays cash and leaves you to sort out the mess (and find some non-cowboys to do the repairs) or one that provides a managed repairer network that takes care of it for you? Do you want a policy that will let you value the contents of your house and insure those, or one that assumes an average figure for a 3 bed, or 4 bed, or whatever, type of house? These are just a couple of examples to illustrate that you are not buying baked beans here and cheapest is not always best.
  Really, Martin, I know it is about saving money, but insurance is one area where value may well be much more important than price. I heard of someone whose house burnt down completely and he rues the day he bought the policy from "insurer A". I had a claim that needed a specialist builder and I was left to my own devices ("get a quote from a builder, we'll approve it, send us the bill, we'll send you a cheque"), when I really wanted an insurer who would send a repairer and take care of it.
  Not all policy coverages are the same.
  Not all claims services are the same.
  Ask and think before you buy on price alone.
  (Apples and oranges may be the same price, but when what you really need is a banana ... )
• I've just switched Home Insurance once again. My policy starts tomorrow. Buildings & contents this year cost me Ј117 with Lloyds TSB.
  Oh...one other thing. Did it through quidco. I now have Ј120 tracked from doing this.
  My insurance cost Ј0 this year, there paying me this time!
• I've done the same thing - my contents insurance from Barclays was Ј77 and I got Ј125 cash back through Quidco! Well worth doing. When your docs come through, your old insurer will probably try to better the quote to stop you cancelling - take this back to the new insurer and get the premium reduced even further. This won't affect your Quidco payment.
• I know it's a pain, but I always double check the fine print.
  For example, M&S insurance came back the cheapest through confused.com.
  Then did a quote from their site, as I couldn't see the policy terms from the confused link.
  2 problems followed:
  1. The M&S direct quote was more expensive (different questions asked)
  2. If I changed to M&S, there was no emergency cover for the 1st 8 days. So, roof damage from a storm or burst pipes in those 8 days (for example) would mean I had no claim.
  Decided to stick to current insurer (2nd cheapest).
  Probably different for others, but I wasn't taking any chances!
• Hi I,m new to this so please forgive me if this information in the wrong place.
  I have just received my renewal quote from Northern rock for £416.52 for building and content. I,ve had my morgage with them so I,ve just kept renewing each year. I called to cancel the policy and they have told me I have to sign a declartion to cancel and pay £25.00 for administration. Can they do that? Has this happened to anyone else?
• Hiya all!
  Does anybody know if you can take out contents insurance with one company and building insurance with another. Don't think you can but thought i'd better check.
  Cheers
• Just cancelled my contents insurance and took it out again with the same insurer on a new quote (suggested in MSE article) which saves me a fiver a month with Royal and Sun Alliance/Lloyds TSB. They are also reportedly giving me £20 back. I didn't know how to do it all through Quidco, pity, but not bad for London - the policy covers full acc damage and is contents up to 50k (not that I have that, but it's the same price as having 15k).
  I tried the sites on MSE and they were all at least £5 more pm. You can't haggle online I guess!
  They have offered me emergency call out cover for heating, locks etc at £5 a month and they pay the first £100. Does anyone (esp London) who has this add on know if it's worth it?
• Looking at getting contents and buildings insurance for a flat. Tesco are offering 35% off and have quoted £504 for the lot. This almost seems too good to b e true, Other insurance companies either wouldn't insure us because it's a flat or were charging around £900. Anyone else with Tesco, or seen this deal. Is it too good to be true or is it a genuine good offer?
• hello
  i know this is a long shot.
  could i apply for contents insurance as a seperate thing and then apply for buildings insurance but with the same company. and do both through quidco. hehe.
  ta
• Beware when switching buildings insurance!
  After seeing their promotion on this board I switched my buildings insurance to the Post Office in October 2006.
  In November 2006 my local council identified a problem with a broken waste pipe I share communally with my neighbours. They repaired it in January 2007 and I have just received a bil for over £1000.
  I contacted the Post Office to discuss my claim and they passed me on to some random firm of underwriters called MMA in Cardiff.
  MMA have told me that as the waste pipe may have been broken before I switched my insurance to the Post Office I may have to contact my previous insurer to claim (as if they are really going to be interested).
  I now have to submit all the paperwork I have from my council before they will make a decision.
  Does anyone know if this is legal?
  I'll certainly be raising this with the Post Office Executive and the Financial Ombudsman should the Post Office turn down my claim.
• My Home Insurance expires on 25/2 with Barclays. If I dont renew it with them, and instead take out a new policy with Barclays through Quidco does anybody see a problem in doing this.? Its the same cost on the renewal and the new quote Ј133.00.
  I would of course get the Ј125 cashback.
  .
  Thanks
• I had just received my renewal quote for home buildings and contents insurance and thought I would look up Martin's advice. Using the links provided I obtained quotes from Confused.com and found I could get similar insurance for just over half the Ј570 I had been quoted by my existing company. Using this information I telephoned my insurers, gave them the quotes from Confused.com and they promptly lowered the quote to Ј290!! For a few minutes work and thanks to Martin's tips I saved myself Ј280.
• A curious tale!
  Just received my renaewal quotation from Chuchill for Buildings and Contents cover @ Ј433. Last year I was a 'new' customer and obtained the cover for Ј303 (via internet). However last year I switched to Churchill beacuse Direct Line, my previous insurer, quoted me Ј466 to renew as against Ј317 when I was a 'new' customer the previous year.
  Now guess what - today's cheapest quote from an hours work is Direct Line at Ј280 as a 'new' customer.
  Curious or what?
• Does anybody think the Lloyds TSB cover is adequate.
  I'm looking at Barclays or TSB on Quidco and both come up with very similar quotes ( less than £10 diff), but Barclays seem to have more options - eg emergency cover, full accidental damage.
  As hopefully getting cover lot cheaper by using quidco wondering whether to get the extra options.
  Update - ignore me, I've just found the extra options on the TSB screens. You have to go onto the next screen after the initial quote.
• MMA are one of the firms that underwrite the Post Office insurance cover - they are not random. They are also quite entitled to ask whether damage occurred before the policy commenced with them.
  Taking your claim to the ombudsman would be fruitless - it needs to go to your old insurer. If you don't understand what you are buying why continue switching insurers every year. Leave it to thoise who know what they are doing and go to abroker