Top 5 House Insurance Policies?

sho_me_da_money

Hi guys,

My nan passed away and she left the house to my dad.

She has home insurance cover with Paymentshield.

Can somebody advise if these guys are any good for price, options and cover?

Cheapest doesn't always mean best but i'm not sure who the best or worst are.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Many thanks,

margaretclare

Never heard of Paymentshield before, but here they are: http://www.paymentshield.co.uk/

What you need is buildings and contents insurance, and for that, you just need to shop around. Cost of rebuilding in case e.g. the house was destroyed completely, insure all contents. Just look at the main insurers and compare them: Aviva (was Norwich Union), Direct Line, all the others.

Paymentshield say they do it through a 'financial intermediary': http://www.paymentshield.co.uk/consumer/bandc/

You might get a better deal by 'shopping around' yourself.

HTH

dacouch

My personal opinion of the payment shield policy is that it is an average policy, she is probably paying a lot for it as they tend to get the customers in with 3 months free cover and then the following renewals it tends to start increasing a lot.

It is underwritten at the moment by Royal and Sun Alliance who are a pretty good company

They tend to have a requirement built into the policy that you must use all the the door and window locks when the home is empty and when you go to bed (When you go to bed they do allow you to not lock the windows of the room you are sleeping in) This is quite an onnerous restriction, I personally do not like these restrictions as I have seen a lot of people have claims declined as they had this type of condition on their policy and had left a small window slightly open as it was a hot day etc

If your father has inherited the house he needs to make sure his name and his wife or partners name are shown as the policy holders.

If you want to shop around for a different policy then be aware they will have a cancellation fee if you cancel mid way through the policy. There is no cancellation fee if he swops insurers at renewal.

Payment shield tend to have big excesses (This is the amount you pay towards a claim) eg their normal excess for Accidental Damage Claims is £200!!! most companies are circa £50 to £100

It would be worth checking what cover your nan had as elderly people have a habit of taking basic cover to save money. You father may want to include extra covers such as Accidental Damage and / or cover for contents away from the home (Personal Possesions)

If the house is empty while the probate is going through you need to inform Payment Shield of this and its best to stay with them until at least you move in.

Its nice for someone on MSE who is not in the trade to realise Cheapest is not always the best with Insurance. Remember that when you buy any type of insurance and weigh up the price against the cover and service etc just as you would do if you were buying any other type of product.

If you have any other questions, post them up here and we will try and answer them.

P.S The payment shield seems to cover £300000 for rebuild costs and either £40000 or £60000 for contents. The building amount is sufficient for the average house providing its not very large or unusual construction. £40000 contents is right on the amount that an average home would have for contents so in an ideal world you would want to have cover for slightly more than you actually have to be safe

sho_me_da_money

Hey dacouch,

Many thanks for taking the time with all that!

Are you with Paymentshield yourself? If so, how do you compare them to the rest?

I don't like their restrictions about the windows etc. Do you think this is a little OTT?

If paymentshield are not the best for price/service - who are the next best?

I've heard personal friends talk about Morethan or Prudential - any opinions on them?

Also my nan i think has the standard cover for building and contents i.e. 300K/40K option you mentioned,

We're in the process of having a new kitchen fit in and the appliances are pretty expensive - do you think these will be automatically covered as part of the standard option?

When purchasing new things, say - TV, Cooker etc - Do you have to call PS and inform them everytime something of value is stored in the home?

Sorry for the newb questions, but my options were this:

1. Stick with PS until all paperwork has been done and we move in.
2. Prior to 1, find out as much as possible for PS and see what other MSE'rs think of them. If they're good - we'll stay, if there is better and cheaper - we'll go.

Also if we were to go with another company, is there a qualifying period in place before making the first claim?

Thanks again

dacouch

I'm not insured by Payment Shield but am a broker so I'm familiar with their cover. Like I said the cover is okish, it underwritten by Royal and Sun Alliance who are a good insurer.

PS tend to get their clients in through Financial Advisers, they often offer the first three months free, the premiums then often increase at renewal so personally I find their premiums are normally not that great.

I don't like the security requirements / warranties as I've seen a lot of people have claims turned down as they had a secuirty requirement/warranty and they either did not have the right locks or a member of the family left a window open on a hot day and the claim was thrown out.

Some people (Mainly OAPs in my experience) are happy with the security requirement / warranty as they are very security consciuos and make sure they always lock doors and windows. So it can be ok for them, although I make sure if they have it they fully understand that if they ever forget a claim could be declined or there could be a much larger excess. So its up to your family whether they have it but personally I would think your dad would rather just pay a few pound extra to have peace of mind

The "average" family is thought to have a total contents of £40000, so your current PS policy is just about sufficient assuming you are average. Bearing in mind your dad is having a fitted kitchen and expensive appliances I woudl guess you may be above average so it would be worth reviewing your contents cover (Its always best to be a little over insured).

For you info the fitted kitchen and built in appliances come under building cover, the free standing appliances are contents. As a very rough guideline if you turn your house upside down any thing that moved would be contents, another way is whatever you take with you when you move is contents (Carpets are contents)

When you shop around just say no to mortice deadlocks and window locks and then the policy should not have that requirement / warranty on it unless you live in a very high crime area like London. The discount most Insurers offer for the security warranty is probably about £6 off a £220 premium so I think its worth paying the £6 so you don't have the security warranty

You mention you have been recommended to More Than, they are actually fully owned and ran by Royal and Sun Alliance and that policy is quite a good policy. The Prudential policy is not bad either, they both give quite a high contents sum insured automatically

PS want to know of any items of jewellery, works or art or coin collections that are indivudally valued at £2000 or more and any other item of contents valued at £5000 or more.

Has the home been officially handed over to your dad yet, if not the PS policy should be in the name of "The Executors of the Late Mrs X". If it has then your dad and mums name should replace your late nans name as the policy holders.

I assume the home is empty, if it is then you should stay with PS and make sure they are aware the home is empty as they sometimes restrict the cover.

It woudl probably be best staying with PS for the moment as a new coompany would not be keen on covering an empty home for a new client plus the building work puts them off. In addition PS will probably charge a fee if you cancel their policy mid term, if you wait until the renewal date there are no admin fees.

There is no qualifying period for most claims if you start a new policy, the new company however will normally not want to pay for any damage that occured before the policy with them started.

sho_me_da_money

Hey there again,

Many thanks for yet another informative response.

Yes the policy is in the name of the executor (my aunt) who wants us to take over the direct debit payments.

I would say we are average (maybe below average family) since we all currently all live in a council home - 5 of us and i'm the only one earning (£22K per annum). The house came as a blessing in disguise really and given that the mortgage is fully paid, we're off to a good start. Will have to be responsible for the bills.

The kitchen and other improvements have/will be made using my lifetime savings! The appliances alone come close to 6ish grand. I figured i'd go for quality rather buying cheap - hopefully they will last us a good few years. Fridge Freezer RRP £4K but i got it for a grand - do i have to tell the insurer the value info per item?

I think your comment about PS being good for OAPs is spot on. And i will definately take your advice on sticking with PS until the renewal date. May aswell save on the cancellation fee - i'm praying the cut off period times in well when we move in.

If i go with another insurer like More Than, will they only deal with contents bought after the effective date on the new policy?

I think it's safe to say you know this game in and out. It's pointless me asking who the top 5 are. Instread, ill ask this - who do you use for your cover?

Thanks

dacouch

A contents policy will cover all of the family living at the homes contents when ever they bought it including things you purchase after the policy starts (As long as they are items that don't need to be specified due to their value then you just inform the insurer).

You probably will be ok on £40000 contents cover then, when you change you will probably find the companies you chose will cover you for upwards of £50000 anyway so it won't be an issue.

I personally use Legal & General, they are not always the cheapest (Although they often are) but they are very fare on claims and I've seen them pay out on claims that are not technically covered.

If you want a policy that covers most eventuallities you want to take Accidental Damage on Buildings and Contents and Personal Possessions Cover (This covers personal effects away from the home). Domestic Legal Cover is normally worth having too. Home emergency cover can be a waste of money depending how much theyt charge for it.

There are plenty of good companies out there, the More Than Policy is pretty good.

When you take cover try and keep the excess low eg around £50 to £75 then you can afford to claim for minor claims eg £300 (Most of the websites will default to an excess of about £200 so you need to just requote it).

Remember to get the policy transferred into you name once the house has been given to you officially.

P.S Normally the estate pays for the House Insurance etc until its all sorted out although I don't suppose this bothers you.

How much the instalments to PS?

sho_me_da_money

I think the PS policy is £500 per year - i will get this confirmed asap.

I don't think that covers an awful lot.

When you said:

"If you want a policy that covers most eventuallities you want to take Accidental Damage on Buildings and Contents and Personal Possessions Cover (This covers personal effects away from the home)"

Is this something that all companies offer?

What type of cover do you have with Legal & General?
How much does it cost you per month?
Are they low on excess?

I've just had quick peak at the terms and conditions of legal and genreal policy booklet and it says:

*accidental damage to computers, TVs and stereos.

Say i have a computer monitor worth £800 that came with a 5 year warranty. And now 8 years later, i've noticed a noticeable scracth on the surface of the TFT screen, does that mean I can still make a claim and have it replaced?

Lastly - when i buy things in future for e.g. LCD TV and there's an option to spend an extra £300 for a 5 year warranty, is there any point in paying that? Or will it be covered under the home insurance, once the item comes through the front door? And once it is in, will the home insurance protect it for an indefinate period of time until something goes wrong?

Again, many thanks!

dacouch

£500 does sound a lot for home insurance, its almost twice the price of the average families home insurance and a lot of money for someone of your nan's age. The way to find out if its expensive is to run a quote through.

All companies offer the accidental damage and cover away from home.

I have an excess of £50 and pay £21 a month.

With regard to your tv, a decent home insurance would cover it if the screen was scratched or knocked it over accidentaly, if they could not repair it they would replace it with a new equivalent.

Home insurance does not cover normal wear and tear but specific "Perils" eg Fire, Theft, Accidental Damage. It does not cover normal wear and tear eg the tv just breaking down.

It is worth considering a warranty but normally the shop that sells you the tv will charge you three times the going rate for a warranty. So just shop around for a warranty on the internet.

sho_me_da_money

Ahh so you can purchase a warranty using other companies?

This is my dilemma -

I have bought a new fridge freezer for £4K and the guarantee that comes with it is only 12 months. If something were to happen to it like a part breaking down 2 years later, then i'm stuffed right? I'm assuming i'll have to pay for the new part and labour costs right?

Is there anything I can do to save on the parts replacement/labour costs if something was to breakdown?

Another scenario - If someone walked past and scratched the fridge door by accident and the scratch was BAD - would this be covered under accidental damage of the home insurance?

Sorry mate, i am clueless in this area. I'm just trying to understand everything about it.

Thanks.

dacouch

The scratch would be covered if you have Accidental Damage on your home insurance, it would not cover mechanical break down.

There are policies that cover all of your "White Goods" and / or all of your "Televisions" etc for a monthly fee. Have a look on the internet for them.

It is debatable whether the Sale of Goods Act will cover you after 1 year on a £4k fridge, it could be argued that you would expect a fridge freezer to last longer than 1 year. Its a bit of a grey area though, someone on the one of the other forums could probably answer it. If you want peace of mind take a warranty out with a reputable company.