Are there any 'decent' home insurance providers

TomsMom

lettucekl wrote: »

Whats the url for the comparison page for housing insurance companies please

http://defaqto.com/star-ratings/home-insurance

katejo

TomsMom wrote: »

My home and contents insurance is due for renewal next week. My current provider has hiked the price so much that I am looking elsewhere (no claims have been made).

I've done all the comparisons, got quotes ranging from around £140 upwards, found a few that look OK then googled for reviews.

I can't find a decent review for any of them when it comes to actually dealing with a claim

Does anyone have a recommendation for a decent company with reasonable prices?

I find Direct Line to be ok. I have used them for several years and they haven't hiked the price up that much. In 2015 I challenged a modest rise and they reduced it slightly. I have had a couple of small claims and they dealt with those without any problem. I have just renewed again.

katejo

TomsMom wrote: »

Thank you for all your help. I'm sorted now. I checked the Defaqto website and got a very good quote from LV direct which is half the price of my current provider and the cover just as good. Very happy

Do you have a burglar alarm? i have never been with LV but saw a complaint a few days ago from someone who had renewed with LV and not noticed in the small print that they now made an alarm a requirement. They later made a claim and it was rejected.

TomsMom

katejo wrote: »

Do you have a burglar alarm? i have never been with LV but saw a complaint a few days ago from someone who had renewed with LV and not noticed in the small print that they now made an alarm a requirement. They later made a claim and it was rejected.

No, I don't have a burglar alarm. I think it was one of the questions and I answered 'no'.

You need to have certain types of door lock and all windows need to have key operated window locks, both of which criteria I met.

They also say:

Alarm:
If we ask for an alarm, it needs to be (or have been) fitted by an NSI or SSAIB approved installer and be a minimum of Grade 2 EN50131

Don't worry if your home doesn't have the locks and alarms we need, we'll give you 28 days from the start date of your policy to get them installed.


So that's quite clear.

The case you read about proves how careful we should be about detail and it's something they overlooked.

FutureGirl

If you like Direct Line, try Churchill as the policy is word for word the same but cheaper. And they're basically both the same company anyways, as underwritten by UK Insurance / DLG.

Blibble

FutureGirl wrote: »

If you like Direct Line, try Churchill as the policy is word for word the same but cheaper. And they're basically both the same company anyways, as underwritten by UK Insurance / DLG.

If you're going down this route, also check out:
- Natwest
- Nationwide
- Sainsbury's
- RBS
- Privilege
- Prudential
- Ulster Bank
- Royal London

All underwritten by UKI and part of DLG - policies are 99% identical.

FutureGirl

Blibble wrote: »

If you're going down this route, also check out:
- Natwest
- Nationwide
- Sainsbury's
- RBS
- Privilege
- Prudential
- Ulster Bank
- Royal London

All underwritten by UKI and part of DLG - policies are 99% identical.

Direct Line and Churchill policies are word for word identical, but Churchill policies come out cheaper out of them all. The others are slightly different in terms of their limits and coverage exclusions.

Natwest comes out as the most expensive, alongside Nationwide, but Nationwide is probably one of the better policies of them all as it gives higher limits and a little more coverage (IE pet damage).

Although the Natwest and RBS essentials policies will be the cheapest, but are the worst policies produced.

Nationwide and Sainsbury's are leaving the umbrella soon anyway so I wouldn't recommend going for them if you're the kind of person who doesn't remember to renew, as you'll end up with a different insurer.

EdGasket

I notice that a few years ago LV started including a lot more reasons for turning down a claim for subsidence than they had originally. Check it out. Not that they are probably any worse in that respect than other insurers but its an unfortunate trend that more and more insurers are making it difficult for the policyholder to make a successful claim.