Home contents with LV (and CSMA)

littlerock

I have Home Contents insurance with LV, which includes a CSMA (Civil Service Motoring Association) discount.

It is a contents only policy, with full accidental cover, to a maximum of £125,000. This includes valuables and entertainment items in the home to a maximum of £5,000 per category. And for personal possessions away from home, £5,000 total for items each worth £1,000 or less and specified items worth more than £1,000 maximum of £2000. There is a £50 excess on each claim.Plus £100,000 legal expenses.

The annual quote, including discount for CSMA membership is £820.00

Is this excessive? Is it the legal expenses which bumps up the cost? What do others pay?

littlerock

Well I phoned them to say I did not see any discount on the actual quote for having a car insurance policy with LV as well and the girl on the phone said it would have been incorporated in my quote.

I then said it seemed very expensive and was thinking of cancelling and she offered to do this on the spot, with a pro- rata refund and a cancellation fee of £32.

On the LV online quotation site I entered the same details as I am paying now and it quoted me £150.........how can it be so different from my current rate?

paddyandstumpy

If the cover is the same then ask them to match the online quote.

I'm not sure if their CSMA scheme has the same cover...

littlerock

Bit surprised to find that they did not even suggest a reduction. I will phone again tomorrow and point out how much lower their online quote is, but to be honest the girl on the phone did not sound exactly authorised to offer discounts.

cairndog

I am the Registered/Keeper/ Owner of 2 cars. A 2002 Toyota Yaris 1299cc Auto and a 2004 Ford Focus 1596cc manual, both petrol.

Both are insured with LV in my name, but have different renewal dates.We are both in our 70s and insured to drive both cars.
My husband is on the schedule as the main driver of the Focus which is up for renewal on April 30th.
.
LV have given me a high renewal price for this compared to last year. I know insurance has increased but I wondered whether it might be worth looking at 2- car insurance policies?
Bearing in mind that my husband has been on my policy and won't have any no claims of his own.

Has anyone any experience of these, or helpful comments about my situation please?
Thanks

Quentin

MSE advice is never simply renew.


Read up the MSE article on cheap car insurance (link at the top of the page amongst the "quick links".


Then shop round the whole market including multicar policies to find the best deal.

littlerock

I am still puzzled over the rate I am paying for contents only insurance to LV and their response when I queried it.

I put in the same details into confused.com and got several quotes which were several hundred pounds lower than I am paying LV. Yet confused.com rates LV as one of the best insurance companies in terms of value for money. LV also won the most trusted advisor award from Moneywise in 2016.

So I rang them up and said I wanted to discuss my policy which seemed rather expensive. The customer service rep immediately and without hesitating said she would cancel it for me at once, there and then, with a £32 cancellation fee. (Which would be nothing compared to the potential savings.) She did not suggest a discount or any alternative policies.

It feels as if I am being ripped off, because I am a long serving customer. In which case why is LV so highly rated on confused.com and other sites? And what would happen if I cancelled and renewed the next day still with LV but at the much cheaper rate they are offering online for the same cover.

EdGasketTheSecond

I had the same thing with an LV motor policy renewal. They wouldn't budge or reduce the price to match the online quote. So I asked well why shouldn't I just not renew and take out a new policy; she said that would mean i'd get a different policy number?? Well big deal.
So I didn't renew at their renewal quote but just took out a new policy online still with LV saving about 30%