Renewal anger

sean555

The wife received the home insurance renewal from Direct Line today, she has been a loyal customer for 14 years and we have only made one claim in that time for minor roof damage after a storm 7 years ago. The renewal amount was £690 for a semi detached property in North West England. I always told her her loyalty counted for nothing with these companies and she should compare the market but she felt she could trust Direct Line and she had good cover with them.
This year I insisted we run a few comparisons and we were getting quotes for as low as £150, she rang Direct Line and the first agent was immediately willing to offer a £300 reduction on the renewal price and escalating the complaint to a supervisor netted us a cheque in the post of £50 regardless if we renewed or not.
Getting a new quote from Direct Line as a new customer in my name instead of hers resulted in a quote of £250, which Direct Line offered to honor should we wish to take up.
Overall it just goes to show how much it really is essential to compare the market before renewing.

keith1950

I am surprised you have only just realised this......its been the case for decades.

rs65

sean555 wrote: »

I always told her her loyalty counted for nothing with these companies and she should compare the market but she felt she could trust Direct Line and she had good cover with them.

She might start listening to you now. Time for a look at all other things she takes charge of.

[Deleted User]

Accepting a renewal quote is like bending over and lubing yourself up for them. I thought everyone knew this. You have to do quotes every year, and switch if necessary. If you do the quotes before your current insurer makes an offer you may find it is far more competitive than it otherwise would be, since they know you are thinking of going somewhere cheaper.

System

keith1950 wrote: »

I am surprised you have only just realised this......its been the case for decades.

Thank you very much for subsidising my insurance costs for 14 years.