Is it worth making a home insurance claim for a bathroom vanity

Hannimal

Sadly, I had a pipe burst in the bathroom and as I was at home and noticed it early, it did not cause a huge amount of damage, apart from to my wall hung bathroom vanity, which is destroyed. The drawers won't open (at all) as it has gotten warped due to the amount of water that flooded through it. 

Now, I have spoken with my home insurance on the phone and learnt that the excess on my policy for escape of water is £350. The vanity was fairly new and I paid £550 for it. If you add to that the cost of someone coming to fit in a new one, it would probably be around £100-200. So I imagine I could get around £200-400 from insurance depending on the cost of fitting a new vanity. Is it worth my while to make a claim? I have read from somewhere (?) that it's only worthwhile claiming if the overall sum comes to 6x your excess, but I am not sure if this is true when excess is £350. Would changing policy provider when my period ends help avoid increased fees? Thanks

Doozergirl

Is your vanity branded?  You can often find ex display things on ebay.  

Hannimal

Doozergirl said:

Is your vanity branded?  You can often find ex display things on ebay.  

Thanks, I am now looking at much cheaper options such as IKEA but my question was specifically about whether it makes sense to lodge a claim, as I have a very expensive (in my opinion) vanity that has become damages, but the excess is very high too. 

Doozergirl

Hannimal said:

Doozergirl said:

Is your vanity branded?  You can often find ex display things on ebay.  

Thanks, I am now looking at much cheaper options such as IKEA but my question was specifically about whether it makes sense to lodge a claim, as I have a very expensive (in my opinion) vanity that has become damages, but the excess is very high too. 

That's why I'm suggesting cheaper ways of replacing it, because whilst it's always a good idea to shop around for insurance each year, they do share claim details with each other so your premiums will rise.  

It doesn't sound worth it, especially if you can negate some of the costs just by being savvy. I have always managed to find lovely ex-display things.  

FreeBear

Hannimal said: Would changing policy provider when my period ends help avoid increased fees?

Pretty sure you will get asked if you have made any claims on previous policies if you switch to another insurer. That could well load your premium for a few years.

Only you can decide if the excess and possible increase in premiums are worth it.

Hannimal

Doozergirl said:

Hannimal said:

Doozergirl said:

Is your vanity branded?  You can often find ex display things on ebay.  

Thanks, I am now looking at much cheaper options such as IKEA but my question was specifically about whether it makes sense to lodge a claim, as I have a very expensive (in my opinion) vanity that has become damages, but the excess is very high too. 

That's why I'm suggesting cheaper ways of replacing it, because whilst it's always a good idea to shop around for insurance each year, they do share claim details with each other so your premiums will rise.  

It doesn't sound worth it, especially if you can negate some of the costs just by being savvy. I have always managed to find lovely ex-display things.  

I completely understand what you are saying. I was told by the insurance that I could get a cash settlement for this one as it's a small claim (for them). So what I am trying to understand is whether claiming for the loss from my end would cost me more in the long run than not claiming for it. I.e. will a single claim on insurance cost more in long run than £200-400.

Sorry that my question was not clear. I do understand that there are cheaper options. 

Doozergirl

Your question is clear, perhaps my answer isn't.   

Yes, I think the ramifications are potentially higher than the short term gain if a smallish claim, which is why I'm trying to suggest alternatives.  

Hannimal

FreeBear said:

Hannimal said: Would changing policy provider when my period ends help avoid increased fees?

Pretty sure you will get asked if you have made any claims on previous policies if you switch to another insurer. That could well load your premium for a few years.

Only you can decide if the excess and possible increase in premiums are worth it.

Of course! I have read from somewhere (?) that if you make a claim you should always change providers after, as your existing one will hike up more than others. Thanks

flashg67

Hannimal said:

FreeBear said:

Hannimal said: Would changing policy provider when my period ends help avoid increased fees?

Pretty sure you will get asked if you have made any claims on previous policies if you switch to another insurer. That could well load your premium for a few years.

Only you can decide if the excess and possible increase in premiums are worth it.

Of course! I have read from somewhere (?) that if you make a claim you should always change providers after, as your existing one will hike up more than others. Thanks

That was untrue for me - had a £35k fire claim last year and the current insurer were around 40% less at renewal than I could find elsewhere. For such a small amount in the OPs case, I wouldn't bother claiming personally though