Please help me get my mum a fair home insurance?

zuliano

by the way, as I previously have said --my mum apparently has been a VERY loyal policy holder of the Prudential who I jusy got in contact with by phone eariler.

The guy I spoke to said something like people will pay more for a company with a well known name, like you do if you buy shoes from a well known brand!

He said he will send info about mum's policy within next 7 working days, but said that she has blanket cover (possessions) of £51, 500

Has an excess of £75

zuliano

ALSO remember I had the initiative to follow up an advert I saw for AGE UK, and got a quote of £95:79 and I came to this forum to ask for opinions on this quote, and was told to look further, and that AGE UK had bad reputation! I had imagined I would have been told to snatch their hand off. You live and learn innit

missbiggles1

zuliano wrote: »

I am afriad that things are getting a bit TOO personal at the moment from some others towards me here. I feel I am being judged because I am coming here for help, as well as patronized that I MUSt be young.

it is no concern of anyone how old I am. I think your naive to imagine that older people know all about this. IF so, how come many people are staying 'loyal' to rip off companies---errrm do you think it is because they want to avoid this wheeling and dealing

WHy do some here find it so hard to understand that some ADULTS will.l struggle looking at this world of comparing quotes etc?

WHY can some people here not just give advice without being personal and condescending. If I knew about this stuff I assure you I would not be like that

Obviously it is very important I get and understand the correct info so as to get as best a quote for my mum as possible. That is what I am asking for. If you cannot treat me with respect please do not reply.

by the way, I have already right at the beginning shared very personal info that I have mental health issues, and that should be a good enough hint why I am struggling with this 'grown up wheelin and dealin stuff';)

Have you had a chance to read and take in the information I linked to earlier?

agrinnall

I'm not asking this stuff because I want to know about you (I have no idea who you are and expect that to stay the same), but in order to understand what you need to know in order to help you. But if you don't want to answer that's fine, I'm out.

Ebe_Scrooge

zuliano wrote: »

Even the lingo 'premium', 'excess' , Some of the advice being given, I struggle to sometimes understand.

Question: I have filled in two online comparison site (as recommended by MSE) forms for home insurance quotes. Will it matter then that if I try them again and info is different?

I'll try and explain the basics for you.


"Premium" - this is the amount you pay to purchase the insurance policy. It will vary greatly between different insurance companies, and depending on the level of cover you want.


"Excess" - this refers to the part of the claim you have to pay yourself. To clarify - let's say you choose an excess of £100. If you break the TV set and claim for a replacement that costs £400, then the insurance company will only pay you £300, because you have an "excess" of £100. Having a larger excess will mean you pay lower premiums, but you have to accept that you'll get a lower payout in the even of a claim. So it's a trade-off.


Unfortunately, loyalty counts for nothing in this market. Personally I change insurance companies every year - the cheapest company one year will almost certainly not be the cheapest when it comes to renewal time. The advent of the price-comparison sites has, at least, made the job of comparing companies a lot easier.


And on the point of "cheapest" - make sure you understand what you are covered for. As a previous poster said, a common difference between policies is "new for old". To use the television example again - one company will pay for a brand new TV of equivalent specification, another company would say "The TV you broke was 5 years old, and was only worth £100, so that's what we'll pay you. Oh, and by the way, you have a £100 excess, so actually we won't pay you anything".


A "new-for-old" policy will cost more to buy for this reason.


Aside from that, there will be all sorts of extras that are included or are optional. Things like loss of metered water in the event of a burst pipe, replacement of lost keys, legal expenses cover ... all sorts of things which you may or may not need. And of course, these will all affect the premium.


To your last point - you can look on the price comparison sites as often as you wish, there's no problem. In fact, it can be quite helpful to get a quote, then alter your requirements and see how it affects the premium. Change the amount of excess, change "new-for-old" to "current value", whatever you want. Then you can decide whether the difference in premium is worth it for your particular requirements.


I hope this is of some help.

DCFC79

zuliano wrote: »

'Well, thank goodness, my mum is not so far gone she cannot verify to whomever that I an acting on her behalf.

No there are no people who can help, hence I am depending on support from places like here.

The reason I don't understand lingo etc? Is because it has been my mum in the past who has done all of this. I have never had to deal with it so it is all very new territory from me. How many people know how their cars run. They take them to a car specialist. Even MORE complex now because many are computerized.
So it is same for me in this world. I am not confident right now to just get a cheap quote and accept it because I am not wanting to mess things up which is why I am trying to ask questions and hopefully get to understand the language of this, and not to fall in any pitfalls.

I find it disgusting (what I am learning) how loyal customers are totally disrespected and ripped off by these companies because they aren't onto doing this. People I HAVE asked for help claim the same thing---that they most likely are getting ripped off because they haven't the time to compare etc. I think these companies depend on such ignore-ance. I don't think it is just ne who struggles with this.

Ive known about insurance for a while and not because I've dealt with it, well my car insurance I've had for years so I know a fair bit and home & contents I know a bit.

I'm not a mechanic but I can judge when I need to take the car to a garage.

I was trying to help, I asked what I did to get an idea if you were from another country or just a young person.

Was pointless in mentioning something if you were then to say you didn't understand.

You shop around for insurance, you find out what the current policy covers and you either use compare the market or some individual insurers and you do a like for like quote.

Don't have the time to compare, hardly takes long to fill in the ctm website and a few individual insurer websites.

rs65

missbiggles1 wrote: »

I'd be careful of arranging somebody's insurance based only on cost as there are other aspects to be taken into consideration, some of them more important than simply saving a few quid.

Well said.

zuliano wrote: »

I just do not want to make a mistake for my mum

The best thing to do could be to leave it alone. Why not trust your Mum's judgement when she took out the policy. Sounds like you have no idea what it covers, how much it costs or even when it is due for renewal. Maybe wait until she gets the renewal letter through and it will give you some info to read.

missbiggles1

rs65 wrote: »

Well said.


The best thing to do could be to leave it alone. Why not trust your Mum's judgement when she took out the policy. Sounds like you have no idea what it covers, how much it costs or even when it is due for renewal. Maybe wait until she gets the renewal letter through and it will give you some info to read.

I was thinking the same thing myself.

zuliano

Ebe_Scrooge wrote: »

I'll try and explain the basics for you.


"Premium" - this is the amount you pay to purchase the insurance policy. It will vary greatly between different insurance companies, and depending on the level of cover you want.


"Excess" - this refers to the part of the claim you have to pay yourself. To clarify - let's say you choose an excess of £100. If you break the TV set and claim for a replacement that costs £400, then the insurance company will only pay you £300, because you have an "excess" of £100. Having a larger excess will mean you pay lower premiums, but you have to accept that you'll get a lower payout in the even of a claim. So it's a trade-off.


Unfortunately, loyalty counts for nothing in this market. Personally I change insurance companies every year - the cheapest company one year will almost certainly not be the cheapest when it comes to renewal time. The advent of the price-comparison sites has, at least, made the job of comparing companies a lot easier.


And on the point of "cheapest" - make sure you understand what you are covered for. As a previous poster said, a common difference between policies is "new for old". To use the television example again - one company will pay for a brand new TV of equivalent specification, another company would say "The TV you broke was 5 years old, and was only worth £100, so that's what we'll pay you. Oh, and by the way, you have a £100 excess, so actually we won't pay you anything".


A "new-for-old" policy will cost more to buy for this reason.


Aside from that, there will be all sorts of extras that are included or are optional. Things like loss of metered water in the event of a burst pipe, replacement of lost keys, legal expenses cover ... all sorts of things which you may or may not need. And of course, these will all affect the premium.


To your last point - you can look on the price comparison sites as often as you wish, there's no problem. In fact, it can be quite helpful to get a quote, then alter your requirements and see how it affects the premium. Change the amount of excess, change "new-for-old" to "current value", whatever you want. Then you can decide whether the difference in premium is worth it for your particular requirements.


I hope this is of some help.

Thanks for your helpful reply. it is most welcome!
What I am choosing to do presently is, yesterday I contacted the insurance company, Prudential, my mum has 'blanket cover' for contents of home. They are sending me info about mum's policy in 7 working days from yesterday. So maybe it is better to see what is covered so then I can try proper comparisons?
I am a very careful person--try to be--with things I buy etc. HATE getting ripped off. So this is why I am very keep to learn best way to get good deal on this.

zuliano

rs65 wrote: »

Well said.


The best thing to do could be to leave it alone. Why not trust your Mum's judgement when she took out the policy. Sounds like you have no idea what it covers, how much it costs or even when it is due for renewal. Maybe wait until she gets the renewal letter through and it will give you some info to read.

Well, as I explained above, even the guy I spoke to at the Prudential admitted that companies with 'big names' charge more, and gave an example of branded shoes being more expensive.

And again and again I am finding out that loyal customers are being dissed and ripped off in this world, and mum's been with the Prudential for years.

I am VERY keen to get cheaper deals, and this 'moneysavingexpert' website (etc) is surely all about this desire to get the best deals and save money.

Also, there is far more money going out of my mum's bank account than is going in. So I am REALLY REALLY wanting to find ways to alleviate that major problem.