Unsustainable Home Insurance

Jogon_2

I loathe Home Insurance renewal time, it’s never pretty and has now become unsustainable.

In 2022 I had to drop off contents cover and my buildings then came in at £267

4 Bed property, low crime rate, no flood risk, 5 years no claims (not claimed on any home insurance policy in 40 years) in fact nothing had changed 

Roll on to 2023 and the premium increased to £327 same cover

Roll on to April 2024 the policy increased to £471 (again buildings only)  I had a discussion with them on the day the renewal came in and was then going to look around for a better policy.

It’s now June, although the policy was set to auto-renew it seems it didn’t as the discussion I had with them included asking it to be cancelled, I don’t recall that part so have asked for the call to be screened to check.

In any case, having no cover I called them today,  nope the £471 is no longer valid and it’s now £571, so in short £327 in April last year to £572 this year, no claims, no changes.

I simply cannot afford to renew at that price, anyone else been forced into make said decision? it’s not one i make lightly but is one simply borne out of affordability and yes i know about the cost to me if there was a total loss of course I do, but again, at £572 for buildings only, I can’t afford it, it’s as simple as that.

JGB1955

What has a price comparison site come up with?

Emmia

Jogon_2 said:

I loathe Home Insurance renewal time, it’s never pretty and has now become unsustainable.

In 2022 I had to drop off contents cover and my buildings then came in at £267

4 Bed property, low crime rate, no flood risk, 5 years no claims (not claimed on any home insurance policy in 40 years) in fact nothing had changed 

Roll on to 2023 and the premium increased to £327 same cover

Roll on to April 2024 the policy increased to £471 (again buildings only)  I had a discussion with them on the day the renewal came in and was then going to look around for a better policy.

It’s now June, although the policy was set to auto-renew it seems it didn’t as the discussion I had with them included asking it to be cancelled, I don’t recall that part so have asked for the call to be screened to check.

In any case, having no cover I called them today,  nope the £471 is no longer valid and it’s now £571, so in short £327 in April last year to £572 this year, no claims, no changes.

I simply cannot afford to renew at that price, anyone else been forced into make said decision? it’s not one i make lightly but is one simply borne out of affordability and yes i know about the cost to me if there was a total loss of course I do, but again, at £572 for buildings only, I can’t afford it, it’s as simple as that.

Why can't you afford it? The risk may be low but can you afford not to have this insurance, which is effectively £11 a week. Could you afford a loss of the property through fire, collapse etc.

If the comparison sites can't come up with a cheaper deal, and this cost is unaffordable then you probably need to have a good hard look at your overall budget.

Emmia

Are you in breach of any mortgage T&C's by not being insured?

njkmr

Comparison site.
Mine went from £265 then on renewal it was quoted as £685..!
Comparison site got it back to £280 ish.
Pain to do but you have to  and I would not risk being without it.

BarelySentientAI

Jogon_2 said:

I simply cannot afford to renew at that price, anyone else been forced into make said decision? it’s not one i make lightly but is one simply borne out of affordability and yes i know about the cost to me if there was a total loss of course I do, but again, at £572 for buildings only, I can’t afford it, it’s as simple as that.

If you can't afford £11 per week to protect the most valuable financial asset you will ever have, then you need to seriously reconsider either your budget, your home ownership, or both.

Mr.Generous

Quote me happy

Interesting that to insure building & contents on my own 4 bed detached is cheaper than any landlord building insurance I have that includes 2 very small houses.

Policy number: XXXXXXXX Policy expires: 23:59 on 05/06/2024 Thank you for choosing us for your home insurance over the past year. Your insurance policy is due for renewal, please check your information and renewal quote below, and if you're happy there's no need to do anything, your policy will automatically renew on 05/06/2024. Your renewal quote

Your new price will be: £115.74 per year Last year's price was*: £113.39 per year All prices shown include Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) at the appropriate rate, where applicable. Please check this cover still meets your needs. You have been with us a number of years. You may be able to get the insurance cover you want at a better price if you shop around. We're offering you this renewal price in line with the latest regulations. Find out more about your price.

DullGreyGuy

Mr.Generous said:

Interesting that to insure building & contents on my own 4 bed detached is cheaper than any landlord building insurance I have that includes 2 very small houses.

People tend to look after their own property much better than they look after someone else. As landlord you also have less control/ knowledge about when the property is left empty, how often they go to sleep with the chip pan still on or candles burning etc. They may be slow to report damp patches appearing by which time the damage is much worse etc. 

XRS200

Jogon, have you tried comparison sites?

Try for buildings and contents as some may not offer buildings only