Building Insurance: Indicative Quote before Placing Offer

landsbeyondthesea

(cross posted from the House Buying forum as I didn't pick up any replies there)

I'm interested to see how much buildings insurance would be on a few houses, as another data point to help me decide which to place an offer on.

If I receive quotes through a comparison site, am I risking a marker on e.g. National Hunter/Synectics by asking for various addresses none of which I currently own or reside in?

I wouldn't want to ruin my subsequent mortgage application!

user1977

I wouldn't have thought it suspicious, though given how cheap buildings insurance typically is, is it really going to make a difference to your purchasing decision?

Sandtree

Insurers/brokers do run their own counter-fraud/rate raiding protection that results in either escalating premiums or declining to quote. These however are internal only and wont go to any external db that a mortgage provider can see or such.

Sandtree

pinkteapot said:

Also, you insure the rebuild cost of the house, not what you pay for the house (what you pay includes the cost of the land).

That seems to imply that the rebuild cost is always lower than the properties value however that isnt always the case.... home values vary massively by area but rebuild costs are much more universal as bricks arent cheaper in a rough area etc. Its certainly the norm for them to be lower but its far from universally true. 

landsbeyondthesea

user1977 said:

I wouldn't have thought it suspicious, though given how cheap buildings insurance typically is, is it really going to make a difference to your purchasing decision?

I was trying to decide whether to buy on a street listed as 'high risk' for surface water flooding, where I understand significant works have recently been completed with the aim of reducing such risk. I was interested to compare with a property on a nearby street where the risk is apparently 'very low'. After further thought I'm leaning towards the risk adverse option in any case, so probably won't worry about quotes.

oscarward

Why not do your quotes with dummy names , use a public pc if you’re paranoid they can track you. How will they know Frodo baggins is the same person as Paddington bear looking at a property

pinkteapot

landsbeyondthesea said:

user1977 said:

I wouldn't have thought it suspicious, though given how cheap buildings insurance typically is, is it really going to make a difference to your purchasing decision?

I was trying to decide whether to buy on a street listed as 'high risk' for surface water flooding, where I understand significant works have recently been completed with the aim of reducing such risk. I was interested to compare with a property on a nearby street where the risk is apparently 'very low'. After further thought I'm leaning towards the risk adverse option in any case, so probably won't worry about quotes.

Despite recent flood defences being built, you'll probably be stuck insuring with the insurer the owner currently uses, who has to keep offering terms but it means you can't shop around.

Insurance cost aside, flood risk is the thing I'm ultra risk-averse on when it comes to property. There is a risk that high rainfall events will become more common in future due to climate change, which increases any existing flood risk. My parents house flooded some years ago and I saw the utter misery and nearly a year of rebuilding your house that results. I now live and work in the Lake District where flooding is a huge issue, and a flood wall built after floods in 2009 was overtopped by higher floods just six years later. I just wouldn't chance it, personally. Some people will be willing to though because it means you get much more house for your money.