Home Insurance Cost Cutting System/MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion

eddie_c_2

£300, YES 300rips is what I have just saved compared with my quote from direct line.

Getinthere

In my joy at having my quote cut by more than half I forgot to say........many thanks!

J_ROBBO

Last week I recieved a phone call from kwikfit regarding house insurance asking me if I would I quote,so I thought why not nothing to lose.After about 30 mins the very nice lady came up with what I thought was a very good quote beating my present insurance by nearly £6 a month so I said ok lets go with it.When the policy dropped thruogh the letter box I noticed that they charged nearly 35%apr for paying by direct debit,now it still beat my present policy by a mile but the charge that they imposed on me for the direct debit came to around £34.Now I have just looked at and filled in all of my bumf on the Tesco insurance site and they have even beaten the quote by another £1 a month so I will be phoning kwikfit on Monday and cancelling that policy asap,oh and the apr for Tesco is 15%.

Tapeman

That horrible time of year when everything seems to run out and renewal notices are dropping through the door (or inbox) almost daily! Anyway our home insurance due to expire in a couple of days, so did all the searches as a good money saver would do.

Got some reasonable quotes, similar prices to last year which i was happy about, then almost selected one and thought i would try Tesco's, as i know they can be competitive in the insurance market. What a result - they shaved 30% off the best quote with a bit better cover!

PS - sorry if this has already been covered - lots of threads to read through!!

dave_2-3

Does anyone know what you should declare as the value for items when taking out contents insurance.

For example, I have a plasma TV that I bought a few years ago for £4000, which would obviously cost less now to buy the same thing new. Should I value for £4000, or the current street price to buy the new equivalent?

I also have a watch that I bought overseas for half the price it would cost me to buy in UK, so should I be insuring for the price to replace here, or would I only get the price I paid?

I ask the insurance companies every year and never get a decent answer and end up insuring for the highest value for each, which obviously costs a higher premium. Whilst I want to ensure that I don't miss out if I ever need to claim, I don't want to insure for more than I should be taking, or would be paid if I had to make a claim.

Any expert advice would be appreciated.

suekjw

Have just saved £500 on my renewal. Not sure whether to be glad or peed off we've been getting well and trully ripped off!!! The cover is actually better too, the only difference is the excess is £100 not £50.

wolfehouse

is there any downside to canceling (not accepting renewal quote) and buying the same insurance from the same company as a new policy online?
the online quote was £200 pounds cheaper from direct line and on the phone they said they don't haggle.

Lindylou54

I am with Liverpool Victoria and feel I am paying way too much for building and contents insurance. Just got a quote for AA insurance for £200 plus 15% discount for applying online. Will I be charged a pro-rata term for cancelling the LV insurance which is due for renewal in November.

feival

I have just found out from M&S insurance that I live in a suspected subsidence area. Just had to go through a subsidence questionairre with them in order to get a quote! They won't even quote me now due to my answers - the only dodgy one is that there are trees within 25m of my house! That explains why everyone is giving me silly quotes.

My renewal from esure is not too bad at £364 (last year £330, year before that £359) but interestingly esure won't even quote as a new customer! Looks like I will have to stick with them again.

koru

dave wrote:

Does anyone know what you should declare as the value for items when taking out contents insurance.

For example, I have a plasma TV that I bought a few years ago for £4000, which would obviously cost less now to buy the same thing new. Should I value for £4000, or the current street price to buy the new equivalent?

I also have a watch that I bought overseas for half the price it would cost me to buy in UK, so should I be insuring for the price to replace here, or would I only get the price I paid?

I ask the insurance companies every year and never get a decent answer and end up insuring for the highest value for each, which obviously costs a higher premium. Whilst I want to ensure that I don't miss out if I ever need to claim, I don't want to insure for more than I should be taking, or would be paid if I had to make a claim.

Any expert advice would be appreciated.

Check what the policy says. Mine says they will either provide a replacement or pay the cost of an "equivalent replacement". So, for the TV, I would say you should use current shop prices; for the watch use current UK prices.

Mr2_2

Ok so renewal arrived from Directline for buildings & contents at £540. I read Martins tips about shopping around and Insuresupermarket sent me to Halifax who initially quoted £148, this rose to £230 once all details completed. They also offer 0% to spread costs over the year! that saves another £40 over directlines 15.5% apr.

Very happy.:j