Buying insurance in Scotland

Bostonerimus1

Bundling is a big thing in the US and insurance is state regulated so it varies a lot across the country. I'm also seeing that insurance is expensive in the US compared to the UK. I just renewed my home policy policy and it cost me $2500 and that was after doing some shopping around, but I have a multifamily home and my tenant has a dog so that costs a bit more.

Bostonerimus1

dunstonh said:

In Scotland do people use insurance brokers or just compare companies?

Either (and direct to provider as well).  

I use direct for my household insurance but a comparison site for the car insurance.   Comparison sites wouldn't cover our property correctly.    Comparison sites are good for mainstream averages.   Not so good if you if you outside of that.

For example, if you bought a property with a barn, you probably wouldn't buy home insurance from a comparison site.  You could but you would likely find the barn wouldn't be covered (the scale of the "outbuilding" is important).   Or if it's a listed building or has any quirks or differences that you generally do not get with mainstream housing or contents.  Or if you want your tractor covered on the contents (whether ride on or compact)

There is also a quality issue.   If you want budget and basic, then comparison sites are your thing.  If you want quality coverage (i.e. they will pay out in the event of a claim and not give you grief or a haggling battle), then you need to move to the quality providers who will either be broker-based or direct.

plenty of choice. Plenty of distribution channels.

Insurance, by it's nature, needs to be reliable. It's useless if there is hassle and they don't pay out. So I'd go for quality. What are the quality providers now? It has all changed since I left the UK, my Mum and Dad used Norwich Union and the only insurance I ever had was renter's through NUS/Endsleigh.

DullGreyGuy

Bostonerimus1 said:

Bundling is a big thing in the US and insurance is state regulated so it varies a lot across the country. I'm also seeing that insurance is expensive in the US compared to the UK. I just renewed my home policy policy and it cost me $2500 and that was after doing some shopping around, but I have a multifamily home and my tenant has a dog so that costs a bit more.

Yes, I've had the joys of US regulation on insurance for many years and providing surplus lines capacity etc... there seems to be a bit of animosity between Lloyds of London and the NAIC who act as the gateway to the syndicates in one direction and the Insurance Commissioners in the other. 

Insurance is generally cheaper in the UK than the US, though you wouldn't believe it based on the complaints seen here. Margins have very much been squeezed out of mass market consumer insurance and it's all been about scale to make profit. 

Bostonerimus1 said:

dunstonh said:

In Scotland do people use insurance brokers or just compare companies?

Either (and direct to provider as well).  

I use direct for my household insurance but a comparison site for the car insurance.   Comparison sites wouldn't cover our property correctly.    Comparison sites are good for mainstream averages.   Not so good if you if you outside of that.

For example, if you bought a property with a barn, you probably wouldn't buy home insurance from a comparison site.  You could but you would likely find the barn wouldn't be covered (the scale of the "outbuilding" is important).   Or if it's a listed building or has any quirks or differences that you generally do not get with mainstream housing or contents.  Or if you want your tractor covered on the contents (whether ride on or compact)

There is also a quality issue.   If you want budget and basic, then comparison sites are your thing.  If you want quality coverage (i.e. they will pay out in the event of a claim and not give you grief or a haggling battle), then you need to move to the quality providers who will either be broker-based or direct.

plenty of choice. Plenty of distribution channels.

Insurance, by it's nature, needs to be reliable. It's useless if there is hassle and they don't pay out. So I'd go for quality. What are the quality providers now? It has all changed since I left the UK, my Mum and Dad used Norwich Union and the only insurance I ever had was renter's through NUS/Endsleigh.

Ignoring a few fringe providers that only did insurance for purple paddleboards etc there hasn't been an actual failure of a UK based insurer for a very long time... when things have started to go down hill but long before difficulty in paying claims has happened the regulators have stepped in and a merger has occurred and the balance sheet propped up. 

In the UK however non-UK companies are able to sell insurance, most notably from Gibraltar since Brexit, and there have been cases of some larger companies out there folding - a motorcycle one went down circa 2 years ago? (memory isn't what it was). 

Financial stability is not a massive risk if you stick with a UK based insurer, that isn't to say every claim gets paid. Most insurers are fair in that they payout what their policy states they are on the hook for but not all policies are equal. All Home insurance here will cover "storm" but how storm is defined can vary massively such that a cheap budget policy with a tight definition may decline a claim for roof damage because wind speeds weren't high enough etc whereas the neighbour may get their claim paid because their policy has a lower definition.

Norwich Union merged with CGU to initially form CGNU but subsequently renamed to Aviva. They're a massive insurer and as such play at all levels from the cheap and cheerful into the high net worth space. 

Endsleigh is a broker with a particular interest in students/education sector hence the tie up with the NUS but will quote for non-students their approach varies depending on the product from simply passing you to a different broker to having a mini comparison tool.

Hoenir

Bostonerimus1 said:

I'm also seeing that insurance is expensive in the US compared to the UK. I just renewed my home policy policy and it cost me $2500 and that was after doing some shopping around, but I have a multifamily home and my tenant has a dog so that costs a bit more.

House built primarily of timber or stone? 

Bostonerimus1

Hoenir said:

Bostonerimus1 said:

I'm also seeing that insurance is expensive in the US compared to the UK. I just renewed my home policy policy and it cost me $2500 and that was after doing some shopping around, but I have a multifamily home and my tenant has a dog so that costs a bit more.

House built primarily of timber or stone? 

Timber, but 90% of residential homes are built of timber where I live.

Bostonerimus1

DullGreyGuy said:

Bostonerimus1 said:

Bundling is a big thing in the US and insurance is state regulated so it varies a lot across the country. I'm also seeing that insurance is expensive in the US compared to the UK. I just renewed my home policy policy and it cost me $2500 and that was after doing some shopping around, but I have a multifamily home and my tenant has a dog so that costs a bit more.

Yes, I've had the joys of US regulation on insurance for many years and providing surplus lines capacity etc... there seems to be a bit of animosity between Lloyds of London and the NAIC who act as the gateway to the syndicates in one direction and the Insurance Commissioners in the other. 

Insurance is generally cheaper in the UK than the US, though you wouldn't believe it based on the complaints seen here. Margins have very much been squeezed out of mass market consumer insurance and it's all been about scale to make profit. 

Bostonerimus1 said:

dunstonh said:

In Scotland do people use insurance brokers or just compare companies?

Either (and direct to provider as well).  

I use direct for my household insurance but a comparison site for the car insurance.   Comparison sites wouldn't cover our property correctly.    Comparison sites are good for mainstream averages.   Not so good if you if you outside of that.

For example, if you bought a property with a barn, you probably wouldn't buy home insurance from a comparison site.  You could but you would likely find the barn wouldn't be covered (the scale of the "outbuilding" is important).   Or if it's a listed building or has any quirks or differences that you generally do not get with mainstream housing or contents.  Or if you want your tractor covered on the contents (whether ride on or compact)

There is also a quality issue.   If you want budget and basic, then comparison sites are your thing.  If you want quality coverage (i.e. they will pay out in the event of a claim and not give you grief or a haggling battle), then you need to move to the quality providers who will either be broker-based or direct.

plenty of choice. Plenty of distribution channels.

Insurance, by it's nature, needs to be reliable. It's useless if there is hassle and they don't pay out. So I'd go for quality. What are the quality providers now? It has all changed since I left the UK, my Mum and Dad used Norwich Union and the only insurance I ever had was renter's through NUS/Endsleigh.

Ignoring a few fringe providers that only did insurance for purple paddleboards etc there hasn't been an actual failure of a UK based insurer for a very long time... when things have started to go down hill but long before difficulty in paying claims has happened the regulators have stepped in and a merger has occurred and the balance sheet propped up. 

In the UK however non-UK companies are able to sell insurance, most notably from Gibraltar since Brexit, and there have been cases of some larger companies out there folding - a motorcycle one went down circa 2 years ago? (memory isn't what it was). 

Financial stability is not a massive risk if you stick with a UK based insurer, that isn't to say every claim gets paid. Most insurers are fair in that they payout what their policy states they are on the hook for but not all policies are equal. All Home insurance here will cover "storm" but how storm is defined can vary massively such that a cheap budget policy with a tight definition may decline a claim for roof damage because wind speeds weren't high enough etc whereas the neighbour may get their claim paid because their policy has a lower definition.

Norwich Union merged with CGU to initially form CGNU but subsequently renamed to Aviva. They're a massive insurer and as such play at all levels from the cheap and cheerful into the high net worth space. 

Endsleigh is a broker with a particular interest in students/education sector hence the tie up with the NUS but will quote for non-students their approach varies depending on the product from simply passing you to a different broker to having a mini comparison tool.

I had NUS/Endsleigh insurance back in the 1980s and I'll be looking for high quality car and home insurance when I return to the UK and my special circumstance will be that as a returning expat I will have no insurance or financial history in the UK...apart from student accounts in the 1980s.

DullGreyGuy

Bostonerimus1 said:

DullGreyGuy said:

Bostonerimus1 said:

Bundling is a big thing in the US and insurance is state regulated so it varies a lot across the country. I'm also seeing that insurance is expensive in the US compared to the UK. I just renewed my home policy policy and it cost me $2500 and that was after doing some shopping around, but I have a multifamily home and my tenant has a dog so that costs a bit more.

Yes, I've had the joys of US regulation on insurance for many years and providing surplus lines capacity etc... there seems to be a bit of animosity between Lloyds of London and the NAIC who act as the gateway to the syndicates in one direction and the Insurance Commissioners in the other. 

Insurance is generally cheaper in the UK than the US, though you wouldn't believe it based on the complaints seen here. Margins have very much been squeezed out of mass market consumer insurance and it's all been about scale to make profit. 

Bostonerimus1 said:

dunstonh said:

In Scotland do people use insurance brokers or just compare companies?

Either (and direct to provider as well).  

I use direct for my household insurance but a comparison site for the car insurance.   Comparison sites wouldn't cover our property correctly.    Comparison sites are good for mainstream averages.   Not so good if you if you outside of that.

For example, if you bought a property with a barn, you probably wouldn't buy home insurance from a comparison site.  You could but you would likely find the barn wouldn't be covered (the scale of the "outbuilding" is important).   Or if it's a listed building or has any quirks or differences that you generally do not get with mainstream housing or contents.  Or if you want your tractor covered on the contents (whether ride on or compact)

There is also a quality issue.   If you want budget and basic, then comparison sites are your thing.  If you want quality coverage (i.e. they will pay out in the event of a claim and not give you grief or a haggling battle), then you need to move to the quality providers who will either be broker-based or direct.

plenty of choice. Plenty of distribution channels.

Insurance, by it's nature, needs to be reliable. It's useless if there is hassle and they don't pay out. So I'd go for quality. What are the quality providers now? It has all changed since I left the UK, my Mum and Dad used Norwich Union and the only insurance I ever had was renter's through NUS/Endsleigh.

Ignoring a few fringe providers that only did insurance for purple paddleboards etc there hasn't been an actual failure of a UK based insurer for a very long time... when things have started to go down hill but long before difficulty in paying claims has happened the regulators have stepped in and a merger has occurred and the balance sheet propped up. 

In the UK however non-UK companies are able to sell insurance, most notably from Gibraltar since Brexit, and there have been cases of some larger companies out there folding - a motorcycle one went down circa 2 years ago? (memory isn't what it was). 

Financial stability is not a massive risk if you stick with a UK based insurer, that isn't to say every claim gets paid. Most insurers are fair in that they payout what their policy states they are on the hook for but not all policies are equal. All Home insurance here will cover "storm" but how storm is defined can vary massively such that a cheap budget policy with a tight definition may decline a claim for roof damage because wind speeds weren't high enough etc whereas the neighbour may get their claim paid because their policy has a lower definition.

Norwich Union merged with CGU to initially form CGNU but subsequently renamed to Aviva. They're a massive insurer and as such play at all levels from the cheap and cheerful into the high net worth space. 

Endsleigh is a broker with a particular interest in students/education sector hence the tie up with the NUS but will quote for non-students their approach varies depending on the product from simply passing you to a different broker to having a mini comparison tool.

I had NUS/Endsleigh insurance back in the 1980s and I'll be looking for high quality car and home insurance when I return to the UK and my special circumstance will be that as a returning expat I will have no insurance or financial history in the UK...apart from student accounts in the 1980s.

Home it won't make any difference, companies traditionally ask how many years you've owned insurance for and how many claims you've had in the last 5 years. No question of which country you've lived in etc. Under UK consumer insurance law it's up to the insurer to ask the appropriate questions not for you to volunteer something you think may be relevant. 

Its car insurance where it may be slightly more tricky because of questions like how long have you lived in the UK.

Financial history for the majority won't make too much difference unless you want credit to pay monthly. For a small number they may use credit rating as a pricing factor but thats typically a U shaped curve where the best price is neither those with a bad history nor those with more money than time to spend it.