Home Insurance Discussion

Graysal

Hi,

I used to have my home contents insured through a local broker, PJ Aiken of Dorchester, as they gave me the best deal at the time, and were only a couple of quid over the best renewal quote. However, when we moved house recently the insurance company cancelled our policy as they don't insure thatched properties. The company refunded us £41.52 but the broker not only charged us a £20 admin charge but also took 20% commission! We ended up with £13.61. I was horrified and wanted to draw attention to this rip-off.

Maybe Martin should publicise this con so that more people are aware and don't fall into the same trap.

shudder

Graysal wrote: »

Maybe Martin should publicise this con so that more people are aware and don't fall into the same trap.

Have you checked the brokers 'terms of business' agreement, you should have had one sent with your renewal?

It should disclose in this document any charges which are going to be applied.

Another point is WHO has applied the charges it may be a case of the insurer has made £20 cancellation fee and you can get this with the direct insurers. I have heard of the charge being anything up to £50 for personal lines contracts.

As for the 20% this is more than likely the brokers reclaiming the commission earned on an annual policy which is a very common occurance across all markets.

To put it in a different aspect if you purchased a car with 3 years warranty would you expect to get a refund if you sold it after a year?

Mistyang

Has anyone any insurance advice for us...we have been flooded twice in the last 6 years and cant seem to get any sort of decent quite anyway apart from around £2000:eek: .
We cannot even get an insurance company to insure us for only theft and fire, it seems so unfair and I expect in the current climate change there will be a lot more people who find themselves in the same situation we find ourselves. It is pretty scarey I am almost becoming paranoid about leaving the house at all except to go to work.

timmo65

W1zz wrote: »

New Policy Quote with same company is: £178.50 - Less £100 Quidco cashback = £78.50 :rotfl: How do Direct Line get away with quoting renewal policies at £322.25...........

hello,
I had the same thing with my Direct line quote but hadn't thought of using quidco. I joined today but cannot see Direct Line on there anywhere. Am I missing it somehow ?

thanks,
Martin

ps - my Last years direct Line contents/house + accidental was £220 via Direct Line - renewal note was for £337- just renewed online - actually slightly better cover - £197 - callled Direct Line - chap said "thats fine - let the old one lapse much cheaper that ways isn't it " - just need to get the quidco discount and I'll be laughing !

realshannon

having what seems like hours looking at quotes and using all the suggested sites, I have just bought Barclays insurance. Depends on what you need to insure, the age of the house etc but they dont add on extra for valuables, that is done through one option rather than make it complicated and best of all - apart from the beating the renewal quote cashback they are offering - they give you £50 for changing to them. It has to be done through the Moneysupermarket link but when I had a query and rang them the lady actually told me to go through this link to get the £50 which I thought was pretty honest and decent. hope this helps someone. Apart from that Esure was extremely good!:A

SMerrf

Hi,
A few years ago I switched the house insurance to the cheapest one, which at the time was Direct Line and we've been with them ever since. I had a look at the huge price increases (including the latest renewal figure) over the past two years and got a new online quote from them...... Renewal price £489, online price £310. I rang up and asked how there was such a difference, the polite lady explained that new customers get extra discounts..... I pointed out that as a loyal customer for the past two years it was unfair. The nice lady then suggessted that she cancel the policy and I apply using the online quote I had just got.

helpmtkc

I totally agree with Georgeone - paying the right price for the right cover is what is key - people only tend to realise they have made a mistake when they need to claim. Online price checking is invaluable and if you know your stuff when it comes to insurance then those sites are great value - too many people are getting carried away by saving a few pounds in the short term and suffering the long term. One of my friends who was burgled recently was told for the Insurer to pay out they would have to show receipts for all the computer games they had stolen. They hadn't kept all the receipts and couldn't claim. I think people should be cost conscious but the priority should be protecting correctly - the question is who can you trust?

biggshot

Has anybody taken any insurance policy from Paragon? They have been recommended by Moneysupermarket.com and provided one of the cheapest quotes for Buildings and Contents.

Thanks

Oranjj

on Quidco under morethan it says £85 for home insurance, so i went ahead and ordered it with them, and theyve only credited £50. is quidco misleading or what? when I ordered a phone with 3, they didnt credit the full amount then either.

boondoggler

I also took out a home insurance policy with MoreThan via Quidco yesterday and it has tracked as £50 rather than £85 and I see that a third person has reported the same thing on the Quidco thread.