Insurance discussion pls

lucypilates

I am looking to get my insurance sorted out and, seeing as you lot have some great logical thought processes, I wanted to start a discussion about the necessity of insurance in the scenario where you’re unlikely to be put in financial poo if an issue arose..

 obviously buildings insurance is a given to cover for the highly unlikely event that you had a house fire, major subsidence or flood.

but my thinking is that, even if I got burgled, insurance isn’t going to take away the emotional distress and I wouldn’t be bankrupt if my tv was stolen and If they smear excrement over my walls, the insurance isn’t going to help with that so what is the benefit to me having expensive insurance?. (Example)

 so do I need all singing, all dancing insurance it should I get minimum cover for the big risks only ….

neilmcl

There's a dedicated Insurance & Life Insurance forum for this sot of discussion, this isn't really the place.

Doozergirl

Your contents are everything you own.  They're not covered by buildings insurance in a fire.  

And if you don't have enough cover, they may not pay out at all.  It's worth getting it right.  

I know 'expensive' is subjective but I don't think we pay more than £150 a year for 5* defaqto rated cover, (provided I switch each year!)

lucypilates

neilmcl said:

There's a dedicated Insurance & Life Insurance forum for this sot of discussion, this isn't really the place.

Ok I’ll post there - cheers

lucypilates

Doozergirl said:

Your contents are everything you own.  They're not covered by buildings insurance in a fire.  

And if you don't have enough cover, they may not pay out at all.  It's worth getting it right.  

I know 'expensive' is subjective but I don't think we pay more than £150 a year for 5* defaqto rated cover, (provided I switch each year!)

Thanks for this - yes I can see that would be essential.

i think it’s the add ons like legal cover, accidental cover, emergency cover etc that is what screws with my mind a bit … it’s all fear based and I am trying to over-ride that and think rationally about if it is ACTUALLY of any benefit to me personally …  but yes, a general contents figure would be required, I can see that now. Thanks

Bigphil1474

Legal cover - can be used for any legal matters, not just your house. If you have a car accident, your home insurance legal cover can help. 

grumbler

If you buy a building insurance, then a content one is usually very cheap to add. The latter is usually more expensive if bought separately.

Personally, I'd never buy a separate content cover and  save (self-insure) instead.

lucypilates

Bigphil1474 said:

Legal cover - can be used for any legal matters, not just your house. If you have a car accident, your home insurance legal cover can help. 

Have you ever used your legal cover?

grumbler

I needed it once and was fobbed off. There are too many caveats and their main business is finding excuses for doing nothing.

Like said above, it makes sense to shop around and switch the insurer every year (and use cashback websites). With the legal cover one of the caveats in the small print is that you aren't covered during first several months after switching.

tacpot12

grumbler said:

I needed it once and was fobbed off. There are too many caveats and their main business is finding excuses for doing nothing.

Like said above, it makes sense to shop around and switch the insurer every year (and use cashback websites). With the legal cover one of the caveats in the small print is that you aren't covered during first several months after switching.

This is not my experience, or my partner's. We have had to call on our legal expenses insurance a couple of times and found the advice was very good. I do know that they will not pay for legal representation in cases where there is a poor chance of winning.  I always advise people to purchase legal expenses insurance as part of their home insurance policy. A family friend called their provider yesterday because their son (who lives with them) had been sacked from work for misconduct.

You will not get professional legal advice any more cheaply than via the legal expenses cover on your home insurance.

tacpot12

I would say that you should not insure for costs that you can afford yourself if the risk event happens. e.g. There is no point insuring your car's replacement value if this is only £1,000 and you have already have this amount saved up. Similarly, there is no point insuring a boiler for £60/month when the cost of a repair is going to be £300, and a replacement £3000. If you pay the premiums for four years you have wasted £3000 that would have bought you a new boiler. 

There are somethings you do need to insure because they are so expensive to replace. Your life, your health, and your home are the obvious ones. Your car needs insuring because it is a legal requirement to do so.