Buildings and Contents Insurance Query

chalkyman

After having to make 3 claims this year, 1 on buildings and 2 on contents insurance, after 15 years with only 2 claims, my premium has shot through the roof.

Would it be advisable to take my buildings insurance separately from my contents insurance now to get better quotes, rather than going for a joint policy, as a lot of insurers wont quote me as i have made 3 claims in a year.

Would i have to declare my contents claims, when getting a buildings insurance quote or just the buildings claim ?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Oscar_The_Grouch

Hi there

Unfortunately, insurers want to know if you have made ANY claims in 5 years for HOME insurance; this is regardless of whether it is for Buildings or Contents. Failure to disclose the claims could invalidate your policy (and possibly considered to be fraud if they think you deliberately withheld the information).

I appreciate that you have paid your insurance for 15 years and you feel that this should be taken into account, but the reverse is also true; let's say you had made a claim for a fire 10 years ago that burned your house down and cost your insurers over £150,000 to settle. Would you still want them taking that into consideration when working out what premium to charge you?

My personal recommendation (and this is exactly what I would do) would be to speak to your current insurers and ask them what would happen to your premium if you increased your excess. I would also stay with them for at least the next 2 years to build up a better insurance history for yourself.

chalkyman

Many thanks for the information. That was exactly what i needed to know.

They have already increased the excess from zero to £100, but i can always ask regarding an even higher excess.

It is Direct Line i am with, and they have been excellent when dealing with the claims, so i suppose i will just have to deal with the increased premium.

cheers