Buildings + Contents too cheap?

lah1308

We have just exchanged on a 3 bed Victorian property in London. As per we have taken out buildings + contents (for when we move in) insurance, however am concerned we are not paying enough!

The previous owners were insured with Yorkshire BS and their buildings insurance alone was £388, although we can't see the details of the policy. I have asked friends and googles and have had answers of around £800 for a house split into 3 flats and £2000 for a house split into 5 flats.

The policy we have taken out with L&G is just £160 for building and contents, the building portion being around £90 of that. Their standard property value is £1m for rebuild and we have pretty much filled out the policy with standard answers, nothing out of the norm. Does this sound to low?

molerat

I paid £152 this year for unlimited buildings and £100K contents. I suggest your friends are getting shafted !

jonesMUFCforever

Have you done dummy quotes with other companies?

Are you sure that your quote is actually for the property you are purchasing?

paddyandstumpy

I suspect the vendors were as previously put "getting shafted".

Is this a house or a flat you've bought, your post just says property.

I ask only because there will be far less insurers quoting buildings cover on an individual flat, and the rate is usually higher. Also your post mentions you've asked your friends for their insurance costs and you've compared rates against flat insurance.

Final point to consider, and I'm sure this is all borne out in the survey; but is there a history or flooding or subsidence at the property? If so that could severely limit your options for insurance, again pushing the price up.

lah1308

Yes this is for a 3 bed house, not a flat. I know I am comparing it to friends prices and they are flats, so not really comparable but was just to get an idea, I presumed their would be even cheaper!

We had a survey done and definitely no signs of flooding in the past, however there are, as with most properties in London signs of previous subsidence but it appears to be historic and the surveyor advised it is unlikely to occur in the future.

I will be calling L&G to double check this as their policy question simply states, has there been subsidence in the past 15 years...how on earth we are supposed to know that, I do not know!

I found the quote using gocompare and there were plenty of similar priced insurers so I think it's all good...and yes the vendors appear to have been lazy/shafted.

daveyjp

Home insurance is difficult to compare just on price as it is very much an a la carte system

Basic cover, buildings to a certain value and limited contents cover, will be the cheapest.

You can then go for premium cover (unlimted buildings and contents) and then add accidental cover, specific item cover, contents away from home, garden furniture, protect NCB, home emergency, legal assistance.

Adding all the extras to basic can easily double the basic premium.

Basic cover for my property and contents is £135. Tick every box and its about £300.

Then you can get discounts for secure locks, alarms, cctv, increasing excess, buying on line, coupling with other insurances etc etc.

Decide what level of cover you want and then compare.

Nick_C

I'm also with L&G. 4 bed detached house £189 in March last year (with £47 cashback) and it went up to £199 this year. The increase was almost all due to the increase in insurance premium tax. (The net increase was 1.9%)

I shopped round at renewal and L&G were cheaper than anyone else for equivalent. I was pleased that they offered a good price on renewal.

System

Make sure that the "rebuilding" cost really does include all incidental costs, such as site clearance, remedial work and waste disposal, not just rebuilding.

There was a case on this forum a long time ago about someone whose house collapsed because floodwater undermined the foundations. Rectifying the ground instability and sinking piles used up the entire sum covered for "rebuilding".