Halifax Home Insurance renewal - hack

NathanRutland

I'm not a halifax bank customer, I only have their Home Insurance.  Last year the cost was £435, this year the renewal is £483 (a hike of >10%).  I phoned them up and was told "due to FCA regulations exististing cutomers could not be offered any discounts".  I believe this is a misinterpetation of the rules - I believe all customers should be offered the same price regarless of if the are new or now.  However, this is what the Halifax CSA told me on the phone! 

My top tip:  when your renewal comes in, go to the website (halifax.co.uk/myrenewal), enter your policy number and postcode, click the "I want to cancel" and the "it is too expensive" buttons and wait 10 seconds.  Sure enought I was offered a price of £413.

Dont ask me how that is fair.  I understand the price is based on the cover level, type of house and Postcode etc... BUT If they could do it for £413 then they should be be offered that price in the first place. Today, I have saved £70 off my renewal for 30 seconds of work.

TheSpectator

To be honest, if your are paying Halifax (or any other bank) for home insurance you are probably paying way too much.

My top tip - Use a comparison site, you would have saved more than £70.

DullGreyGuy

NathanRutland said:

I'm not a halifax bank customer, I only have their Home Insurance.  Last year the cost was £435, this year the renewal is £483 (a hike of >10%).  I phoned them up and was told "due to FCA regulations exististing cutomers could not be offered any discounts".  I believe this is a misinterpetation of the rules - I believe all customers should be offered the same price regarless of if the are new or now.  However, this is what the Halifax CSA told me on the phone! 

The actual regulation says that a renewing customer must not be any more expensive than a new customer would be buying the same product via the same channel. Non-financial incentives (eg free cuddly bear) dont have to be considered. 

So it's the other way round, they can offer savings to renewing customers such that they are cheaper than new customers but not the other way round. However the fact its by channel and product is also important, if you bought over the phone they can offer new customers online a lower price.

NathanRutland

TheSpectator said:

To be honest, if your are paying Halifax (or any other bank) for home insurance you are probably paying way too much.

My top tip - Use a comparison site, you would have saved more than £70.

I am not paying the Halifax for insurance, they are just brokering the deal and take a commission.  The underwriters are only a handful (Lloyds, Allianz, etc...) they get the lion’s share of the premium. 

I found Halifax, on a comparison site, to be the cheapest broker (for me) last year and then went to purchased it directly anyway.  Home insurance takes ages to arrange as you need to specify all your door locks, smoke alarms, outbuildings, etc..  If you can renew cheaply saving time and money then this advice might be worth something to someone.  My original posts states "Today, I have saved £70 off my renewal for 30 seconds of work".  When time=money, that is a good result.

If you buy through a comparison site, you are still paying the underwriter for your insurance, and possibly a broker, and possibly the comparison website too.  Everyone wants a commission – comparison sites are no exception.

TheSpectator

NathanRutland said:

TheSpectator said:

To be honest, if your are paying Halifax (or any other bank) for home insurance you are probably paying way too much.

My top tip - Use a comparison site, you would have saved more than £70.

I am not paying the Halifax for insurance, they are just brokering the deal and take a commission.  The underwriters are only a handful (Lloyds, Allianz, etc...) they get the lion’s share of the premium. 

I found Halifax, on a comparison site, to be the cheapest broker (for me) last year and then went to purchased it directly anyway.  Home insurance takes ages to arrange as you need to specify all your door locks, smoke alarms, outbuildings, etc..  If you can renew cheaply saving time and money then this advice might be worth something to someone.  My original posts states "Today, I have saved £70 off my renewal for 30 seconds of work".  When time=money, that is a good result.

If you buy through a comparison site, you are still paying the underwriter for your insurance, and possibly a broker, and possibly the comparison website too.  Everyone wants a commission – comparison sites are no exception.

Unless you are insuring a mansion £413 seems very expensive to me. Each to their own.

NathanRutland

TheSpectator said:

NathanRutland said:

TheSpectator said:

To be honest, if your are paying Halifax (or any other bank) for home insurance you are probably paying way too much.

My top tip - Use a comparison site, you would have saved more than £70.

I am not paying the Halifax for insurance, they are just brokering the deal and take a commission.  The underwriters are only a handful (Lloyds, Allianz, etc...) they get the lion’s share of the premium. 

I found Halifax, on a comparison site, to be the cheapest broker (for me) last year and then went to purchased it directly anyway.  Home insurance takes ages to arrange as you need to specify all your door locks, smoke alarms, outbuildings, etc..  If you can renew cheaply saving time and money then this advice might be worth something to someone.  My original posts states "Today, I have saved £70 off my renewal for 30 seconds of work".  When time=money, that is a good result.

If you buy through a comparison site, you are still paying the underwriter for your insurance, and possibly a broker, and possibly the comparison website too.  Everyone wants a commission – comparison sites are no exception.

Unless you are insuring a mansion £413 seems very expensive to me. Each to their own.

Basically, yes.  The stables, servant quarters and the cannons in the turrets all cost extra.  The salient point is still saving £70 in 30 seconds.

DullGreyGuy

TheSpectator said:

NathanRutland said:

TheSpectator said:

To be honest, if your are paying Halifax (or any other bank) for home insurance you are probably paying way too much.

My top tip - Use a comparison site, you would have saved more than £70.

I am not paying the Halifax for insurance, they are just brokering the deal and take a commission.  The underwriters are only a handful (Lloyds, Allianz, etc...) they get the lion’s share of the premium. 

I found Halifax, on a comparison site, to be the cheapest broker (for me) last year and then went to purchased it directly anyway.  Home insurance takes ages to arrange as you need to specify all your door locks, smoke alarms, outbuildings, etc..  If you can renew cheaply saving time and money then this advice might be worth something to someone.  My original posts states "Today, I have saved £70 off my renewal for 30 seconds of work".  When time=money, that is a good result.

If you buy through a comparison site, you are still paying the underwriter for your insurance, and possibly a broker, and possibly the comparison website too.  Everyone wants a commission – comparison sites are no exception.

Unless you are insuring a mansion £413 seems very expensive to me. Each to their own.

Speak to dunstonh on here, they think their Home insurance is good value at a 4 figure sum and the first one isnt a 1. 

£413 is just a number, there is no way to say if its expensive or cheap without knowing what's covered. It doesn't need to be a mansion to get to that sort of value, NFU for example wanted £2,000 just to insure my camera lenses and wife's handbags/jewerly outside the home whereas our current insurers charge £650 for all our contents inside and outside the home. 

If you wanted a quote from Hiscox I think their minimum premium is something like £1,250 these days.