This Sounds Like A Rip Off

Jamesvi

Wondered if someone would be willing to comment?
My home insurance is up for renewal mid-Decemeber. I have historically used a broker but times are tight and I want/need to get the most competitive deal I can. I've trawled the forums and based on what i've read I can't help feel there is something better out there.

Here are the details.

5 bed detached in Essex.

Market value of the house is: £330,000
My estimate to rebuild: £180,000
2 claims in the last 5 years.

So the quote comes through saying:

Policy excess is £50, increasing to £250 for Escape of Water claims and £1000 for subsidence. £500,000 for buildings (accidental) and £75,000 for contents.

And all this for just over £600! Not withstanding the contents insurance, which I feel is too high, any opinions on the rest?

Thanks for your time.

Just_Some_Guy

Any specified items? At first glance it's a bit on the high side but not totally unreasonable for two claims (so zero no claims bonus) and a low voluntary excess, depending on what your postcode is like.

Jamesvi

Thanks Just_Some_Guy!

No, no special items, all standard stuff really. Can you expand on the "postcode comments?"

Cheers.

Just_Some_Guy

basically if you live in an area with a bad history of theft, subsidence, flooding, anything that costs insurers money then your premium starts heading for the stars. I have no idea where you live but if you're near a river that might have something to do with it!

bouncydog1

Insurers use postcodes to rate risks - so a similar property insured elsewhere in the country may attract a higher or lower premium for the same cover, depending on claims experience in that area.

E.G. some areas in Manchester for instance suffer a lot of theft and vandalism claims, so the premiums will be higher because the chance of a claim is greater.

I would also add that you cannot simply get comment as to whether or not your insurance is reasonable, because nobody knows what cover you are purchasing - e.g. standard buildings and contents or is there accidental damage, what is the construction of the building etc. etc.

At the end of the day you either get a broker to do their job and you pay a bit more or you base on price and don't necessarilly get the cover you need unless you are prepared to sit and read through the policy conditions. If the price is cheap guess what the cover will be like.....

Jamesvi

Thanks. No to all of the above. It's flat, dry and "urban" round here! The cover quoted inc. accidental - but that's not something I've asked for. The building itself is timber frame w/ brick and built in 2001.

Yes, you're right, I could just sit back and let the broker do it. That's what I've previously done. This time however I'd like to know that the money I'm paying them is well spent!

Curiously when I entered the details in the "search sites" they came up with a quote two-thirds less than the broker quote (I did enter a lower, more representative - IMHO - cost of re-build value). Would it make that much difference?

If the price is expensive, will the reverse hold true?

Thanks for you're time.

FlameCloud

You say £180,000 to rebuild- how have you worked that out? It seems low based on experience.

Just_Some_Guy

Yeah. Premiums are (very simplistically) cost of a rebuild x probability of rebuild happening. Reduce the cost of a rebuild and the premium goes down.

Jamesvi

FlameCloud wrote: »

You say £180,000 to rebuild- how have you worked that out? It seems low based on experience.

That came from the link in the "lower insurance costs" tab. The Buildings cover at the moment is £500,000.

closed

take the broker out of the equation. Try direct line or one of the many comparison sites and use cashback

mikey72

Try
Gocompare
confused

sainsbury's have a good level of cover and are normally reasonably priced.