Contents Insurance

Amatheya81

Hi,

I wondered if anyone could suggest a good contents insurance company. At the moment I'm paying £20 for a 3rd floor 1 bed flat in a secure complex and having looked around I think that might be a little on the steep side. All I want it to cover is Fire or Theft really as it would never even cross my mind to make a claim should I break something by accident. Oh and I already get buildings insurance as part of my mortgage.

Thanks in advance for your advice

dunstonh

A good contents policy is one that is comprehensive and from a company with good claims reputation. A cheap policy is one that doenst cost you much but then it may not cover much either.

Cheap and good rarely go hand in hand.

It will be hard to make any suggestions as some companies will focus on certain postcodes and not others, certain age groups or occupations etc. It sounds like you are after cheap rather than good so stick with the price comparison sites or ask a local IFA/broker.

Amatheya81

Yes I think I am looking for cheap as well as good but like everyone else I want to get all I can for my all be it small £.
As I said my real concern is fire or theft... any situation that would leave me with nothing. If I knock over my TV and it breaks (knock on wood) that's my own stupid fault and I expect to have to buy a new one.

dacouch

Is it £20 a year or £20 a month you are paying?

Amatheya81

sorry it's £20 per month

dacouch

If you want basic cover then you need to ensure you do not have Accidental Damage Cover and Unspecified Personal Belongings Cover.

You will find Home Insurance reduces as you get older and as you achieve no claims discount.

Do you have a boyfriend / girlfriend or partner that you live with who is older than you as adding them to the Insurance can often reduce the premium.

What is your occupation

Amatheya81

I'm a project managment addistant/analist. I live alone, I only have 2 years no claims and my ensurance hasn't changed price within that time (I've never claimed and tbh like I said, it would never even occure to me to claim unless I lost everything or I hed something worth thousands stolen/destroyed and I don't actually own anything worth more than £400.

dacouch

The answer then is to shop around when your renewal is due.

A good trick is to pop into a local broker (Not Swintons or a national chain), ask for a quote and ask them to explain how contents Insurance works. They can explain it to you so you can understand what cover you actually want and don't want. They will also know tricks on reducing the premium. If their quote is no good you will at least understand what you are buying and can use the knowledge to find a suitable policy at a good price. (A broker will not charge you for arranging a quotation and they are not normally that pushy).

Remember though that the cheapest is not always the best, make sure if you opt for a larger excess than normal eg more than £70 that the saving you get makes sense in the long run. For instance if you save £5 a year for having an extra £100 excess you have to go twenty years without a claim to make it worthwhile (Which is fairly unlikely).

talulah25

you mentioned that you had buildings insurance as 'part of your mortgage', I work for a large broker and 99% of the time people who have buildings insurance through their mortgage provider are paying ALOT more than they need to. In my experience we can normally knock 30-40% off their buildings insurance and some insurance companies will give you discounted or even free contents cover if you have buildings with them

dacouch

Its a flat on the third floor

talulah25

dacouch wrote: »

Its a flat on the third floor

so...........:huh: