Home insurance - huge difference of renewal over £500 / versus comparison site over £200

makara

My father who always dealt with the Home insurance passed away last year

His annual price for our 3-bedroom semi in London was about £325 or so - until we called them (Santander) after a kitchen ceiling collapse (due to the bathroom slowly leaking above it) - which they refused to pay out for, as they said we had been aware of slow leaks, and it wasn't a sudden out of the blue collapse (fair enough)

Due to that non-paid "claim" (they have put £211 as the "cost" of them sending out surveyors) the next year (last year) it went up into the £400s

This year the new renewal is over £500

Having never dealt with Home insurance (but having plenty of experience at looking for cheaper car insurance) - I used comparethemarket to fill in some details (as per what I saw on the Santander renewal letter) - and am getting quotes in the low £200s

My father being "of an older generation" NEVER haggled or changed providers with ANYTHING - he just kept accepting renewals from the same companies year after year after year

As I am new to this - should I do what I do with Car insurance - i.e. phone Santander, and say "This is way higher than last year or the year before - and I'm being offered quotes at less than half the price - can you do anything, because if not then I am taking my business elsewhere"

Or is there possibly some benefits Santander may have that others do not?  And hence the price disparity?

Also is £500s (or £200s) a reasonable price for 3-bedroom semi home and contents insurance in London?

Many thanks

CSI_Yorkshire

makara said:

Or is there possibly some benefits Santander may have that others do not?  And hence the price disparity?

The difference between policies in home insurance is wider than the difference in policies in car insurance.

Just putting in the headline details on a comparison site doesn't necessarily mean that you are comparing similar policies - you would need to compare the policy details for that.

makara said:

Also is £500s (or £200s) a reasonable price for 3-bedroom semi home and contents insurance in London?

Either are reasonable, depends on the actual policy as noted above.

makara

CSI_Yorkshire said:

Either are reasonable, depends on the actual policy as noted above.

Many thanks for the fast reply. 

Continuing - aside from cost issues, is there any benefit to remaining with the same Home insurer (who we've been with for probably decades)

- as opposed to jumping ship to a new provider?

(which doesn't seem to have any implications with car insurance   - although point noted Home versus Car is very different)

CSI_Yorkshire

No benefit unless you've got an ongoing claim for subsidence.

makara

CSI_Yorkshire said:

No benefit unless you've got an ongoing claim for subsidence.

Many thanks - I'll speak to Santander first, and try to negotiate a lower price

greyteam1959

Bank based insurance is notoriously bad value.

makara

greyteam1959 said:

Bank based insurance is notoriously bad value.

Thanks - the lower priced ones I found on the comparison site were from Sheila's wheels, E-sure, Policy Expert amongst others

CSI_Yorkshire

makara said:

greyteam1959 said:

Bank based insurance is notoriously bad value.

Thanks - the lower priced ones I found on the comparison site were from Sheila's wheels, E-sure, Policy Expert amongst others

Just remember, lower price does not mean better value.

It depends on what is actually covered as well.

DullGreyGuy

Santander Home insurance is a rebadge of Aviva and unfortunately Aviva offer the full spectrum of policies from budget to all the bells and whistles. As such you really need to understand the policy to know if you are sacrificing quality to get a better price or just getting a better deal. 

Home insurance is a fairly complex product with many inner limits, variable approaches etc and so despite the headlines being the same that £200 saving could mean the difference between a £1,000 and a £10,000 payout for the same claim

makara

Many thanks - I had no idea it was Aviva

DullGreyGuy

With most companies selling insurance if you scroll to the bottom the footer will have something like:

Santander Home Insurance is administered and underwritten by Aviva Insurance Limited. Registered in Scotland, No. 2116. Registered Office: Pitheavlis, Perth, PH2 0NH. Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.