Really confused - advice needed.

Rev

Hope someone can help me out with a bit of advice.

My mum always sorted the house insurance but sadly she passed away in December and the direct line policy is up for renewal, I can't renew, I need to open a new account in my own name. Direct line are quoting £450 which seems high since there's over 5 years no claims.

Moneysupermarket etx have a lot of companies much cheaper but I've sent the day googling reviews and according to most reiew sites, they're all awful.

zurich, sainsburys, more than, barclays pretty much everyone I googled.

I need buildings and contents cover, plus home emergency.

Can someone please give me a few hints as to what companies are half decent and what ones should be avoided?

Thanks

dunstonh

Moneysupermarket etx have a lot of companies much cheaper but I've sent the day googling reviews and according to most reiew sites, they're all awful.

Everyone is awful if you go by the internet. Most the time you take no notice of it unless you spot trends.

Personally, I prefer to avoid white labels (i.e. third party brands using someone elses product) and not going for the cheapest because chances are its cheap for a reason. Quality providers, such as Hiscox, NFU etc wont be cheap and wont appear on comparison sites but then you wont have problems when it comes to dealing with claims. The main insurers are typically fine for the mainstream. However, they will frequently have budget options as well as more comprehensive levels of cover as well.

InsideInsurance

Which? have a free article which rates insurers based predominately on their service. Defaqto have their star rating which rates insurers based predominately on their product quality. With a combination of the two you will get some idea but inevitably with any "service" consideration there is always the luck of the draw of who you happen to speak to etc.

You will need to be careful on if you can claim to have 5 years claim free if you have not held insurance in your own name before. Certainly check with the insurers in question BEFORE buying

InsideInsurance

dunstonh wrote: »

Quality providers, such as Hiscox, NFU etc wont be cheap and wont appear on comparison sites but then you wont have problems when it comes to dealing with claims.

Hiscox Direct 505 Home Insurance does appear on Confused, if you meet their criteria.

606 is only via brokers and so that comes down to if brokers include it in their searches or not but on the aggregator itself you would only see the brokers name not the insurer they have decided to place the business with.

bouncydog1

By speaking directly to insurers we were able to transfer the policy into OH's name as beneficiary and retain the bonus when dear MIL passed away. Have to say insurers - NFU - were absolutely brilliant. The customer service was so good we have transferred other property insurance to them, plus horse and they have given additional discounts on everything to reflect the portfolio we hold with them. try calling your mum's insurers directly to see of they can help.

Rev

I called NFU, they said they only insure rural properties?

InsideInsurance

Rev wrote: »

I called NFU, they said they only insure rural properties?

They dont, though historically its where they come from, as they quote for my property which is in the centre of a small town.

NFU however are not mass market and therefore it may be the case that they are more selective over which postcodes they do quote for and so may chose to not quote on some major metropolitan areas

*Scarlett

If you google for reviews, nearly all companies will show up with some horror stories. It's not a bad thing to do, but generally people will vent about complaints and the ones who have had a good service won't bother to write about it on line.

Clearly if there is a certain company that is showing as consistantly rubbish then you should avoid.

As stated above have a look at

http://www.defaqto.com/insurance

http://www.which.co.uk/money/insurance/reviews-ns/home-insurance/customer-satisfaction-/

Rev

Must just not cover my area.

I've had my dogs insured with NFU till recently.

Thank you. Will check those links out.