Home Insurance Discussion

Rachel1974_2

Hi all,

I agree with GeorgeOne re get the best quality insurance you can afford. Shop around for the best price and then check that you are properly covered and make sure you're happy with what they offer. Ensure your high risk items are adequately covered! The high risk portion is treated separately to the personal possessions portion.

We've recently been burgled and pretty much everything of value was stolen (a lot of it being irreplaceable items of jewellery). Our insurance company sent out a loss adjuster who advised us that he was there to assess the high risk items that remained in the house - if the value of the claim + the value of the remaining high risk items = more than the high risk portion of the sum insured then our payout would be much reduced. As the burglars had managed to clear us out, it didn't turn out to be so bad for us but it did shock me to learn they did this.

We've also had to have an hour's phone call with a jewellery assessor who went through every item of jewellery on our list wanting a size, colour, width, etc, etc. In my opinion it's well worth taking photographs of all your jewellery and keeping a list of where it was bought, value etc.

Insurance company also told us they'll be ordering replacements and delivering them as they get to buy in bulk and get discounts. They will also offer us a gift card loaded with a certain value so we can go and buy new jewellery as again they get discounts from the main retailers. If we ask for cash instead they will reduce our claim as they cannot get these discounts. Nice if all your stuff comes from H Samuel, not so nice if it comes from small independent shops.

As we replace items, I'll be walking round every room and adding up the value of everything in there - 10 pairs of shoes at £40 and 50 CDs at £10 each soon add up.

And now a request for help - has anyone used an insurance company, had a claim and received excellent customer service and had a fantastic policy?

Thanks!
Rachel

Insco

At the higher end of the market but Chubb and Hiscox generally would not put you through this

voice_of_reason_4

Rachel1974 wrote: »

Hi all,

I agree with GeorgeOne re get the best quality insurance you can afford. Shop around for the best price and then check that you are properly covered and make sure you're happy with what they offer. Ensure your high risk items are adequately covered! The high risk portion is treated separately to the personal possessions portion.

We've recently been burgled and pretty much everything of value was stolen (a lot of it being irreplaceable items of jewellery). Our insurance company sent out a loss adjuster who advised us that he was there to assess the high risk items that remained in the house - if the value of the claim + the value of the remaining high risk items = more than the high risk portion of the sum insured then our payout would be much reduced. As the burglars had managed to clear us out, it didn't turn out to be so bad for us but it did shock me to learn they did this.

We've also had to have an hour's phone call with a jewellery assessor who went through every item of jewellery on our list wanting a size, colour, width, etc, etc. In my opinion it's well worth taking photographs of all your jewellery and keeping a list of where it was bought, value etc.

Insurance company also told us they'll be ordering replacements and delivering them as they get to buy in bulk and get discounts. They will also offer us a gift card loaded with a certain value so we can go and buy new jewellery as again they get discounts from the main retailers. If we ask for cash instead they will reduce our claim as they cannot get these discounts. Nice if all your stuff comes from H Samuel, not so nice if it comes from small independent shops.

As we replace items, I'll be walking round every room and adding up the value of everything in there - 10 pairs of shoes at £40 and 50 CDs at £10 each soon add up.

And now a request for help - has anyone used an insurance company, had a claim and received excellent customer service and had a fantastic policy?

Thanks!
Rachel

Hi,

first time poster here,

would just like to say that I was shocked to read the section highlighted above. I had no idea that Insurance companies did this..

If I understand this correctly, it means that if you (for arguments sake) had contents worth 200k and you were only insured for 100...

If you were robbed of 100k... That the Insurer would not pay out a penny, as you were under insured and still had 100k worth of contents left!

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but if this is the case, this is quite frankly disgusting and shocking...

some would use the word "crooked"

FlameCloud

They have worked it out wrongly then.

Underinsurance only applies to the whole policy limit, not internal limits on things like high risk items.

Some examples-

Say you have £40,000 contents, but only insure them for £20,000. In the event of a large loss, say £30,000 the insurer would (rightfully) reduce the payment by 50% as that is the amount you are underinsured for.

If you have £10,000 of jewellery with a £8,000 HR limit, and suffer a loss worth £9,000 you should recieve all £8,000, as the underinsurance doesnt apply to the internal limit.

It is right that they reduce the whole payment, because you are only paying a premium for that amount. Large underinsurance could also be construed as misrepresentation. If it was on internal limits, then the policy is either specially worded or the worked it out wrongly. I've certainly always been told to never deduct it from internal limits, and that is what the CII trains.

FlameCloud

voice_of_reason wrote: »

If I understand this correctly, it means that if you (for arguments sake) had contents worth 200k and you were only insured for 100...

In this specific example, if you suffered a £100,000 loss the payout would be £50,000, as you are underinsured by 50%.

Insco

FlameCloud wrote: »

In this specific example, if you suffered a £100,000 loss the payout would be £50,000, as you are underinsured by 50%.

However, and this is very important, many policy wordings state that in the event of underinsurance that all that happens is that a deduction for wear and tear is made - not proportionate reduction - so as ever check very carefully the policy wording.

Insco

If you are insured for £100,000 but have £200,000 of contents and lose £100,000 if the policy has the condition of average ( proportionate reduction) Insurers would pay £50,000 - being Sum Insured £100,000 / Value at Risk £200,000 x Loss £100,000

If you are insured for £100,000 but have £200,000 of contents and lose £200,000 - a total loss - if the policy has the condition of average ( proportionate reduction) Insurers would pay £100,000 - being Sum Insured £100,000 / Value at Risk £200,000 x Loss £200,000

angeldelite

Hi everyone, i've followed each and every step Martin has detailed to get the cheapest home insurance quotes. As is being mentioned by many people i don't believe the cheapest is always the best. However, 'Brit Insurance' are covering exactly what i require in my home insurance at a price that's significantly cheaper than all other quotes i've received. I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with this insurer as it's a name i've never heard of. I've done a quick search through the site and Google and i'm not really getting much information. Thanks in advance for any information anyone might have.

Just one more question while i'm at it! I'm with Kwik Fit at present and as usual they're renewal price has shot up. Through comparison sites Kwik Fit is coming at a close second after Brit Insurance. If they don't agree to matching their online new customer quote can i cancel my current policy with them and take up a new one on the same or next day (through any communication means)?

elfreako

fegan2401 wrote: »

Hiya all!

Does anybody know if you can take out contents insurance with one company and building insurance with another. Don't think you can but thought i'd better check.

Cheers

#
I have noticed from renewing both mine and my parents home insurance doing contents and buildings insurance separately is working out to be more costly. I would advice trying to get one insurer and break a deal with them, always try the internet approach as they do give more discounts to people online.

Kev78_2

I am currently getting ready to move home. I am planning to put the majority of my stuff in storage as I will be moving back to my parent's house for a little while whilst I look for a new place. However I'm finding it very difficult to get insurance for the goods that will be in storage. The insurance of the storage company itself is quite expensive, my current home insurance provider can't / won't help and I've tried many other companies as well without success.

Has anyone else been in this situation before and have any advice for me? Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks