re. saving on contents/building accidental damage & Home emergency

katejo

I am looking at quotes for my home insurance renewal and wondering whether to pay the extra for accidental damage (buildings & contents) & home emergency. Have never had to claim on any of these but is it a false economy? Has anyone opted out and regretted it?

dacouch

How much extra are they?

katejo

dacouch wrote: »

How much extra are they?

With all 3 it is about 40% more.

FutureGirl

Think about whether you would bother claiming if you accidentally broke something in your house Ie TV, Laptop etc. Or if you spilt wine on your carpet. Would it be worth claiming with the excess and NCD raise? If yes, then it's worth it. Personally I think Personal Possessions is more worth it than Accidental Damage.

Home Emergency is only for things like leaking pipes, some cover blocked drains etc. Most wouldn't cover if you got a hole in the roof. Claiming on Home Emergency wouldn't make your premiums rise.

katejo

FutureGirl wrote: »

Think about whether you would bother claiming if you accidentally broke something in your house Ie TV, Laptop etc. Or if you spilt wine on your carpet. Would it be worth claiming with the excess and NCD raise? If yes, then it's worth it. Personally I think Personal Possessions is more worth it than Accidental Damage.

Home Emergency is only for things like leaking pipes, some cover blocked drains etc. Most wouldn't cover if you got a hole in the roof. Claiming on Home Emergency wouldn't make your premiums rise.

My current policy doesn't include accidental or home emergency. I wouldn't claim for a small accident in the home. Even when a storm damaged some ridge tiles on my roof, I chose not to claim to avoid an increased premium next time. I do always cover personal possessions. That isn't in question here.

FutureGirl

If you wouldn't bother claiming if you accidentally broke the TV, or spilt red wine on your cream carpet, or accidentally broke a sofa, then I wouldn't bother with Accidental Damage cover.

Do you have boiler / pipes cover elsewhere, with HomeServe / British Gas etc? This is, essentially, what Home Emergency is.

katejo

FutureGirl wrote: »

If you wouldn't bother claiming if you accidentally broke the TV, or spilt red wine on your cream carpet, or accidentally broke a sofa, then I wouldn't bother with Accidental Damage cover.

Do you have boiler / pipes cover elsewhere, with HomeServe / British Gas etc? This is, essentially, what Home Emergency is.

No I don't. I am not a fan of BG and have heard bad stories about Homeserve. I have found a good local firm which has been servicing my boiler for quite a few years now. Will call them out if i have a problem. I prefer to just keep some money aside for such events.

rs65

FutureGirl wrote: »

Do you have boiler / pipes cover elsewhere, with HomeServe / British Gas etc? This is, essentially, what Home Emergency is.

Mine is more than that:-

Up to £500 for the cost of call out, labour and parts
Plumbing and drainage
Heating and electrics emergencies
Infestation by pests such as wasps or rats
Security emergencies such as lost or stolen keys

InsideInsurance

Only you can work out if its cost effective for you to take out AD cover or not. Obviously most people have small damages like wine on carpets or TVs being dropped but there are occasionally bigger accidents like people badly messing up their parking/ pulling off their driveway ending up in them taking out the corner of their house (as well as their car). These can certainly become expensive claims when structural engineers are required etc.

katejo

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Only you can work out if its cost effective for you to take out AD cover or not. Obviously most people have small damages like wine on carpets or TVs being dropped but there are occasionally bigger accidents like people badly messing up their parking/ pulling off their driveway ending up in them taking out the corner of their house (as well as their car). These can certainly become expensive claims when structural engineers are required etc.

I won't have anything to do with driving as I have no car (or driveway). I am just thinking of things like a suddenly burst pipe. I can turn the water off but it may take a while/be expensive to get the repair done. On the other hand I have a very good tradesman who would either do such jobs or put me in touch with the someone who can. He has done lots of non emergency jobs for me already.

InsideInsurance

katejo wrote: »

I won't have anything to do with driving as I have no car (or driveway). I am just thinking of things like a suddenly burst pipe. I can turn the water off but it may take a while/be expensive to get the repair done. On the other hand I have a very good tradesman who would either do such jobs or put me in touch with the someone who can. He has done lots of non emergency jobs for me already.

HE cover is slightly different as it only covers the cost of emergency repairs and so is never going to have a claim for £100,000 etc and so it is arguably much more a convenience thing as it doesnt cover any resultant damage, just getting the pipe done so you have water again.

AD cover can cover events that results in your house having to be knocked down, rebuilt and you in temp accommodation whilst its sorted etc and so the stakes are a lot higher than HE