Home Insurance Discussion

boobbby

janepoulter wrote: »

My insurance company sent me a quote to renew my buildings and contents insurance. I found a cheaper quote. I was going on holiday and tried to call them to cancel but their office was closed so I cancelled my direct debit payment. Two weeks after the policy had expired I received a letter saying they were unable to collect their money, followed quite closely with another letter saying I owed them £32 because I did not renew with them. The last letter just before Xmas was threatening solicitors for non payment. Can they do this?
They sent me a quote which I ignored as it was too expensive, I assume I am free to change my policy on its expiration without consulting the previous insurer and also to stop anyone removing unauthorised money from my bank account or aren't I ???? But why, therefore, do they expect me to pay them £32??

When you took out your insurance policy you will have signed to say that it can automatically renew unless you advise them otherwise. This is a tactic used by many companies, so be careful when it comes to the renewal time as you normally have less than one month to cancel the automatic renewal.

luv_my_brass

boobbby wrote: »

When you took out your insurance policy you will have signed to say that it can automatically renew unless you advise them otherwise. This is a tactic used by many companies, so be careful when it comes to the renewal time as you normally have less than one month to cancel the automatic renewal.

This concerned me, so I've just had a word with my Insurance Company to see if this applies to my policy, and they say that it sometimes applies when you pay by direct debit. I always pay in advance as it's often cheaper, therefore it doesn't apply. But certainly worth looking out for this clause when looking at new policies.

pepperrabbit

Can anyone tell me how long historic subsidence counts against you or has to be declared for a buildings insurance quote?
Our house was underpinned in c1988, has been fine since (obviously!). We've just had major building work completed and I've run our details just through GoCompare so far - and have ONE quote of £984.... (policy is up in about 3 weeks)
I thought our current insurers were taking the mickey with a quote of £870 (roughly £400+ on last year for 2 extra bedrooms) but now I'm thinking that sounds reasonable. Current insurance includes a £1500 excess for subsidence.
Do i actually need to phone around and try to explain? this whole area was underpinned around that period so the postcode should surely reflect the current risks if they all compare claim details - or do I credit the industry with too much info sharing?
Any help gratefully received.

chrisjgregory

My elderly Mum wanted me to renew her Buildings + Contents cover with Saga - she didn't want to change insurers. The premium requested was £470 for a 2-bed bungalow and modest contents, which I thought was really steep...

So I tried getting an online quote from Saga Online, and first it wouldn't let me put her address in, it said 'You already have a policy'. So I put in her next-door neighbour's address (same kind of property) and got a quote for £239, just half of the asked renewal. So I phoned Saga and asked to renew at £239, was told that that price is for NEW customers ONLY - and I think it's disgraceful that Saga are looking to discount to new customers and not prepared to reward loyal customers who stay with them...

So I went back to the online quote, but in entering her address I made a (legitimate) error, however it renewed and I paid the premium. Then when I checked and saw the error in the address, I phoned again, had the address corrected, and cancelled the 'old' policy.

So if you're with Saga, here's how to make a saving at renewal:-
1. Get an online quote using a neighbour's address
2. Insure your neighbour's house
3. Phone Saga and get the address changed, and cancel the old policy
4. If it all goes pear-shaped you have 14 days cooling off period to cancel altogether

System

chrisjgregory wrote: »

My elderly Mum wanted me to renew her Buildings + Contents cover with Saga - she didn't want to change insurers. The premium requested was £470 for a 2-bed bungalow and modest contents, which I thought was really steep...

So I tried getting an online quote from Saga Online, and first it wouldn't let me put her address in, it said 'You already have a policy'. So I put in her next-door neighbour's address (same kind of property) and got a quote for £239, just half of the asked renewal. So I phoned Saga and asked to renew at £239, was told that that price is for NEW customers ONLY - and I think it's disgraceful that Saga are looking to discount to new customers and not prepared to reward loyal customers who stay with them...

So I went back to the online quote, but in entering her address I made a (legitimate) error, however it renewed and I paid the premium. Then when I checked and saw the error in the address, I phoned again, had the address corrected, and cancelled the 'old' policy.

So if you're with Saga, here's how to make a saving at renewal:-
1. Get an online quote using a neighbour's address
2. Insure your neighbour's house
3. Phone Saga and get the address changed, and cancel the old policy
4. If it all goes pear-shaped you have 14 days cooling off period to cancel altogether

Yes I agree that it is poor for an insurance company not to reward loyal existing customers.

But, I would double check that your Mum is now actually insured since Saga may look at what you have done as a fraudulent attempt to get insurance under false pretences and may cancel the policy at some point (maybe if / when your Mum needs to submit a claim)

Red_Ant

Having bought home insurance from Lloyds TSB because of their name / reputation, I was amazed that their Customer Care team told me today that they have no influence over the companies that actually provide the cover, and if I have an issue with a claim I cannot escalate to Lloyds, even though I bought the products from them.

Apparently had the products actually been fulfilled by Lloyds things would be different - but that was never mentioned when I took out the policies.

Having had Royal Sun Alliance turn down what I believe was a perfectly valid claim, having read and reread the conditions of the policy, I now have the hassle of going to the Ombudsman as my only way of escalating the issue as the Lloyds Customer Care team won't touch it - and wont even let me complain that this is their approach.

Needless to say I'm cancelling all the other services / products I have with Lloyds as a result of their lack of Customer Care.

urbie

I decided to take Martin's advice and shop around when my building and contents insurance were due. I chose to go with the Post Office as they were cheaper than my current Insurer. On the 30th December 2011 I took a policy out, to begin on the 4th January 2012. I then rung my current insurer to tell them that I wouldn't be renewing my poilcy this time. They asked if they could quote me, which I now know, is what I should have done in the first place . They were a lot cheaper, because in their words, I was a valued customer who had been with them for years. So back to the PO to cancel my policy, only to be told by a moody salesman, that I now owed them £30 :mad: cancellation, is this allowed??

Today I received a letter from the Post Office dated 30th December, 2011 and I'm confused at the following:

If your policy cancels at 23.59 on 4 January 2012 the following balance will be due:

Premium due: £30.00
Cancellation fee*: £0.00
Total Outstanding: £30.00

So what do I do? I suppose I shut up and put up??
It doesn't seem right though, that on the 30th I took out a policy and then within a short period, I cancelled the policy and it cost me £30.00. I thought everyone had 14 days grace.

Thanks for reading :beer:

pubsboy

I have just renewed my buildings and contents insurance with Churchill. I was quoted £639 as a renewal but by buying on-line as a new customer I was able to reduce it to £292. When I rang Churchill to let them know that I did not want to renew on the terms they had quoted they asked for details of the alternative quote that I had received. Incredibly, they said that they were unable to match the lower quote even though they had given it! I know that companies rely on apathy and inertia to boost their profits but quoting more than double their on-line arm is pretty outrageous and only goes to show what can be saved if one is prepared to shop around.

luv_my_brass

pubsboy wrote: »

I have just renewed my buildings and contents insurance with Churchill. I was quoted £639 as a renewal but by buying on-line as a new customer I was able to reduce it to £292. When I rang Churchill to let them know that I did not want to renew on the terms they had quoted they asked for details of the alternative quote that I had received. Incredibly, they said that they were unable to match the lower quote even though they had given it! I know that companies rely on apathy and inertia to boost their profits but quoting more than double their on-line arm is pretty outrageous and only goes to show what can be saved if one is prepared to shop around.

I'm quite baffled by the variations in quotes that I've received recently from various insurance companies for house & contents insurance. For the same property, the quotes have varied from £125 ( Green Insurance Company) to £307 (Castle) I don't know how Green can do it for so little, it's less than I paid last year. Has anyone had any dealing with Green? They tell me that they are underwritten by Axa, but not sure just how reassuring that is.

mary1

I live in a bungalow with a loft conversion (done with planning consent). I had a phone call from More Than as my renewal is due 22nd Jan 2012 giving me a quote.

Lived in the house for 18 years and never had a problem getting insurance. Only claimed once due to flood of burst pipe in kitchen years ago.

More Than has refused to insure the house as one of the bedrooms has a flat roof which was replaced by us 1 1/2 years ago. My property was build in the 1920 and is very strongly built with a new roof, double glazing, new boiler central heating etc.
Anyone else had this problem or should I keep quiet about the flat roof.