Home contents insurance PAID

Susan1942

Yes I did tell them about the claim on the 27th July which is the date on the letter from the insurance company In fact it is included on the details of the policy date ring and the amount of the claim. I would always declare everything When I think back to the cleaning of the chair it is more than 3 years ago so didn't need to declare this I will ask RIAS to give me a quote. I would think that £50,000 would be pretty tight for me if I had a total loss in fact it would not cover everything The policy has not been increased since 1994 so 20 years. I had increased it at this time when we moved house replaced a lot of our furniture and my Daughter told me that £25,000 was inadaquate cover.
Thanks again for your advice much appreciated Sue

InsideInsurance

Susan1942 wrote: »

I would think that £50,000 would be pretty tight for me if I had a total loss in fact it would not cover everything

A total loss is irrelevant. Most insurers apply averaging and so any claim could have its payout reduced by the percentage you are under insured by. ie if your contents is worth £60,000 but you are only insured for £30,000 then any claim would be reduced by 50% because you only insured your things for half their value.

Remember the sum insured must be the total value on a new for old basis of absolutely everything you own in your home. You cannot choose to have a lower limit because there are items that you arent bothered about replacing if there was a total loss

Susan1942

I do understand this as my daughter told me 20 years or so ago when my insurance cover was only for £25,000 At that time I increased it to the current level of £50,000 I called my current insurance company yesterday for a quote They said it was too early as they quote only for 30 days ahead He then said he would quote me and said £114 I asked him if he was including the claim in July and he said it was not noted on my records He then said he would ask the people who deal with renewals He said that it might be that because the claim was for a small amount that they were not considering it . I spoke about the £50 000 cover and he said that this would be the minimun amount for a 3 bedrooms apartment I also told them I had a quote so said he would put this on my file also At the end of the day when I think about it I do need greater cover than £50 000 it would have been OK 20 years ago but as you say old for new when I look just at my lounge/dining room alone it adds to a very considerable amount. I think I am going to go with the Insure for Retirement quote with AXA As said the July claim is actually showing on the details of the quote I have downloaded the policy read it carefully and it covers everything in the existing policy
Thanks again for your advice The policy with AXA they have my banking details but the money will only be taken on the due date I did a go compare search but a lot of the companies will not quote as I have cover for 60 days away from home and most will only cover for 31 days I am not regularly away for so long but in the past 5 years I have been away for just under the 60 days 3 years out of the 5.
Many thanks again Sue

Voyager2002

Susan1942 wrote: »

Further to the last comment My house contents policy is due for renewal on the 18th Oct To date I don't have a quote from my current insurer RIAS I did however have a telephone call from a company called Insure for Retirement on Tuesday They wanted to quote me and I agreed to this I informed them on the recent claim I made in July They did say that I would not receive any no claims discount
What they offered was an increase to £100,000 from £50,000 with my current insurer the excess was £100 rather than £50 They do cover me for up 60 consecutive days away from home
All other cover was as the current policy with some increase in the amount for all risk cover single item to £2000 from £1500
They quoted me £113. 60 which practically the same as RIAS last year paid £114 30 Should I ask my current insurer for a quote or simply accept this one The policy is underwritten by AXA so am happy with this There was a lot of pressure to accept this and I did say that I would but no payment will be taken until the 18th October I do have a 14 day cancellation so wondered what others thought I have got the 60 day cover which is very important to me Santander wanted to quote me but their quote is £151 so a lot more Many thanks Sue

Cancel this. Immediately.

RIAS have treated you well and will probably continue to do so in the future, while AXA have a rather poor record on settling claims. And pushy salesmen who pile on the pressure to make a sale should not be rewarded.

dwsjarcmcd

Susan1942 wrote: »

There was a lot of pressure to accept this and I did say that I would but no payment will be taken until the 18th October I do have a 14 day cancellation so wondered what others thought I have got the 60 day cover which is very important to me Santander wanted to quote me but their quote is £151 so a lot more Many thanks Sue

Have you provided them with your payment details? Accepting that they won't take the actual payment until renewal, if you tried to cancel then you will be hit with a cancellation fee, even though your within the cooling of period.

They may not but worth checking!

Quentin

dwsjarcmcd wrote: »

Have you provided them with your payment details? Accepting that they won't take the actual payment until renewal, if you tried to cancel then you will be hit with a cancellation fee, even though your within the cooling of period.

They may not but worth checking!

Not with insure4retirement who make no cancellation fee or charge any premium if you cancel within the cooling off period.

Susan1942

That is correct I would only pay a cancellation fee if it was 14 days from start of policy but if I cancel now there will not be any cancellation fee. I am still unsure do you think that I should ask RIAS to increase my contents cover currently £50,000? Not sure how much more it would cost me to do so You seem to be of the opinion that there are problems in getting AXA to settle claims My only dealings with AXA have been through an investment bond which I have had for many years When I have wished to withdraw money from this bond it has been dealt with swiftly that of course is my money and not their money which in the event of a claim would be a different matter Thanks again Sue

Quentin

Google which? recommended home insurance and see how much higher up the list rias is over axa.

Then look up their reviews online before making your decision.

Susan1942

Thanks I will do that good suggestion My Daughter who works in liability says any insurance is only as good as when you have a claim against them Sue

InsideInsurance

Susan1942 wrote: »

Thanks I will do that good suggestion My Daughter who works in liability says any insurance is only as good as when you have a claim against them Sue

Not exactly, your claims experience will be defined by both the quality of the product and a company's approach to customer service.

The first is very well defined and Defaqto will give you a rough idea of it. If you buy a budget policy you simply wont get the same features as a top tier HNW policy.

Service is more variable and I agree there is an element of luck of who you get to speak to but take a large enough sample size and you will see trends appear. That is what Which? attempts to do.

I've worked with organisations at both ends of the spectrum and simply there are those that intentionally give better service than others but typically service costs money and that money is raised via premiums.

Of cause not everyone needs Hole In One cover or Matched Sets and similarly some people dont mind holding on the phone for 15 minutes and being told to use H Sammuals to replace their stolen jewelry especially when all of this means they cut 30% from their premiums. Its rarely about getting the best cover but about the most appropriate for your needs.

Simply buying the cheapest and rolling the dice at claims stage can be a little bit of an unnecessary risk