Am I getting fleeced?

diethyl_ether

After reading the mortgage buying guide here, I realise I did something silly: buy insurance from the mortgage broker. While the mortgage I got is good (after doing lots of independent research), I just said "yes" to the insurance stuff without thinking about it.

In a nutshell:

Life insurance: £14.40 (me and my partner, both healthy non-smokers about 25) with Friends Provident
Buildings + contents insurance: £37.89 with AXA
Income protection insurance: £23.43 (me) + £26.70 (partner) with Friends Provident

That's a total of £102.42 a month. I've just found through MSE that I can get buildings insurance with the AA for about £50 a year. So I started to get worried.

Am I being shafted here? What is "normal" to pay for all this stuff?

And I haven't even factored in sick pay insurance, which I was hesitant to go for at the time, but now feel is sensible to get.

sugared_honey

Are you tied into a contract with the broker for the insurance? It is worth checking the timescales etc if you are.

Life insurance doesn't sound too unreasonable, this kind of cover generally starts at about £5/6, is this a joint policy? Bear in mind if you have/plan on having kids, a joint policy only tends to pay out on the first death (unless someone can correct me on this?) and sometimes the price doesn't change that much having 2 seperate policies.

House insurance is very hard to say, £37ish a month sounds alot, but this can vary greatly from area to area, house to house etc etc. Best advise is to check the policy itself, what you are currently paying for and then follow Martins advice. You might find that the same policy is cheaper when bought direct.

I can't help with Income Protection but I'm sure there will be someone else on here that can

dunstonh

Am I being shafted here? What is "normal" to pay for all this stuff?

depends if you want them or not.

House insurance for £50 a year doenst sound very good. You havent included contents either so I guess you are not interested in theft or damage to your possessions.

And I haven't even factored in sick pay insurance, which I was hesitant to go for at the time, but now feel is sensible to get.

You have it with FP so you must have factored it in. Is that budget or comprehensive income protection?

Life insurance: £14.40 (me and my partner, both healthy non-smokers about 25) with Friends Provident

Seems in the right sort of ballpark.

After reading the mortgage buying guide here, I realise I did something silly: buy insurance from the mortgage broker. While the mortgage I got is good (after doing lots of independent research), I just said "yes" to the insurance stuff without thinking about it.

You havent necessarily done anything silly. An IFA is typically the cheapest place to buy your insurances ( life and protection). So, if you used an IFA then you should be fine. Most IFAs will have access to a decent range of home insurances as well. Although not all will.

If you used a tied agent or multi-tied agent then these are the most expensive typically (although banks tend to be the most expensive).

diethyl_ether

Are you tied into a contract with the broker for the insurance?

No, I'm not. I signed paperwork, so I've effectively bought all this stuff, but I can still cancel it as I'm still within the 14 day cancellation period.

The thing is, this person isn't an IFA. She's a mortgage broker. And while she's clear, (apparently) honest and pleasant, she only sells FP and AXA products.

If you used a tied agent or multi-tied agent then these are the most expensive typically

So that seems likely. After doing some research, the life insurance seems reasonable (and yes, it's a joint policy), the other things seem expensive.

House insurance for £50 a year doenst sound very good. You havent included contents either so I guess you are not interested in theft or damage to your possessions.

True, the AA £50 one just was buildings insurance, but I was just quoting the cheapest thing.

You have [sick pay protection] with FP so you must have factored it in. Is that budget or comprehensive income protection?

The income protection is only for if we lose our jobs. It doesn't include protection if we are unable to work due to illness.