Home Insurance Discussion

Former_MSE_Wendy · 17 June 2008 at 11:35AM

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If you've reduced the amount of your home insurance with cashback please report your success to encourage others

gaily · 2 July 2008 at 8:42AM

Whilst saving money is the aim of this site, and I wouldn't want people to overspend, make sure that your policy covers what you need it to.

I work for an Insurance broker - specialising in those people with HIGH NET WORTH, and the standard polices on the market DO NOT provide sufficient cover/protection in case of a loss. Many of our Clients are underinderinsured, and it's only when they have a loss that they find out. This applies to those of us (me included) who do not have enough to even be Mid Net Worth.

If you've been lucky enough to be given or have been bequeathed a diamond ring worth say £2000 - check your policy, it may have a single article limit of £1,500, some of the big TVs now cost more than this limit. These items need insuring correctly. Yes, you'll pay extra on some policies, but you'll want paying in full if it gets lost/damaged.

I know it's not a fun subject, but Insurance covers the bad things that might happen - imagine the worst that could happen, making a claim, and finding you haven't got enough to recoup your losses.

When looking at sums insured for contents, many people forget the items such as Curtains, Carpets, Bedding, Linen and Clothing - these can add up for a family of 4/5 - imagine replacing all the shoes in your house in 1 go!!!

Sorry to be a grump, but there is slightly more to it than just having insurance, make sure it's adequate.

bob_regis · 16 July 2008 at 5:29PM

I have this year got a Natwest Buildings and Contents Insurance cover, and have claimed £850 in vouchers for my laptop under its accidental cover - for my current rented property (in my name).

I have just bought a house and am looking at quotes for Buildings and Content cover.
Do I need to declare my claim under accidental damage and will it affect my claim? I'm not clear when asked have I made a claim - whether that implies accidental claim?

The property we are buying is going to be in both mine and my wifes name - so I assume that the policy needs to be in our names too.

_Andy_ · 16 July 2008 at 5:44PM

bob_regis wrote: »

I have this year got a Natwest Buildings and Contents Insurance cover, and have claimed £850 in vouchers for my laptop under its accidental cover - for my current rented property (in my name).

I have just bought a house and am looking at quotes for Buildings and Content cover.
Do I need to declare my claim under accidental damage and will it affect my claim? I'm not clear when asked have I made a claim - whether that implies accidental claim?

The property we are buying is going to be in both mine and my wifes name - so I assume that the policy needs to be in our names too.

You should declare any claim. Whether it's accidental damage or not isn't relevant.

Iguana · 16 July 2008 at 6:18PM

Has anyone had any successs in changing their buildings insurance when its a leasehold property.

Our property is a leasehold maisonette and all the leaseholders where I live were told som years ago when a different company took over that we had to take out insurance with their nominated insurer. Our buildings insurance is in the region £300.00 a year which seems a lot to me. We pay more on top for contents with a different insurer (SAGA)

I have read that it can be challenged but the link below seems to imply houses not maisonettes/flats.

http://www.mortgageguideuk.co.uk/insurance/leasehold-insurance.html

arothwell · 10 August 2008 at 6:54AM

Ive just renewed my house insurance and noticed something odd. In the old day I used to complain because the building part of the insurance was for say £300,000 on my house which was worth only £100,000 at market rates. The insurers said it was because it would cost £300,000 to build it back to the original spec. This I had to swallow. This time I found out the house was to be insured for only £120,000 when it would sell for around £150,000. What had happened to the original spec question? I could not get an answer. Two representatives talked round it but failed to answer it. I got the quote raised to £150,000 but am still worried. Can anyone here offer help? The house is 100 years old and it certainly wont be possible to restore it to its original state at all.

Oscar_The_Grouch · 10 August 2008 at 11:23AM

Many buildings insurance policies are arranged with a "stupidly high" limit of cover, but the premium is based on your number of bedrooms/rooms and age of property. On those policies, you will be given a sum insured that is vastly more than what you actually need, but as it has no bearing on the price, you can ignore it.

What you may now have is a "sum insured" rated policy. This is where the price you pay is based on how much it would actually cost to rebuild your home. This means that the number of bedrooms becomes academic and you can sometimes get a better deal.

The problem with "sum insured" policies is that you run the risk of being underinsured and the "average" clause comes into effect. This is where they make you responsible for a proportion of each claim you make. You also run the risk of being over insured, which means that you are constantly paying out more than you need to.

There is a solution!!!!

One of the standard and accepted means of calculating your rebuilding costs is the BCIS. They have a rebuilding cost calculator at the following address:

http://calculator.bcis.co.uk/

I strongly recommend you read the whole thing before getting out your tape measure.

Please remember that the BCIS is a guide only and if you have any concerns you should really speak to a chartered surveyor about your rebuilding costs.

Hope this helps.

skylight · 10 August 2008 at 11:30AM

I have used More Than in the last few years. The cover is perfect for my family (NEVER underestimate your cover, it is important and a few £s saved here is not worth it in the long run). Anyway, 2 years ago I recieved £70 cashback on a £100 years premium and last year I recieved £50 cashback for a £100 premium (was slightly cheaper to cancel the old insurance and re-apply via quidco even without the cashback!!)

Will do the same this year. Firstly I check out comparison sites, compare these to my renewal quote and see if I can get cashback. At the forefront of my mind those is my cover though, not how cheap I can get it for (but it helps!)

jfjf · 12 August 2008 at 1:40PM

None of the online brokers will give me a quote as I've had two claims in the past three years, and the one company I phoned wouldn't provide a quote as both were for flood related incidents (internal flooding, not related to any of the big floods of last year - I'm 95m above sea level and 60m above the nearest river!).

Does anyone have any recommendations for where else I can go for a quote? My existing insurer (Tesco) has quoted £860 which I can't afford, a big increase on last year despite no claims being made in that period. Will anywhere let you forego flood cover to save money?

jfjf · 12 August 2008 at 1:46PM

None of the online brokers will give me a quote as I've had two claims in the past three years, and the one company I phoned wouldn't provide a quote as both were for flood related incidents (internal flooding, not related to any of the big floods of last year - I'm 95m above sea level and 60m above the nearest river!). Should I state that my property wasn't flooded, since one event was a burst pipe and the other a drainage problem that flooded a cellar?

Does anyone have any recommendations for where else I can go for a quote? My existing insurer (Tesco) has quoted £860 which I can't afford, a big increase on last year despite no claims being made in that period. Will anywhere let you forego flood cover to save money?

gaily · 12 August 2008 at 1:52PM

JFJF - You can ask for flood cover to be excluded - but they will usually extend that to more than you are willing to restrict.

You say that you are above the level of any rising water - but any water passing through your house on the way down a hill, or anything backing up through drains that is storm related would also be excluded.

This combined with any benefit that you get from rehousing if you are forced to evacuate is a lot to lose for any premium reduction that they might offer.

You should always make insurers aware of any claims you have had - some of them can check the property for claims history, and will not quote if they think you are deliberately trying to mislead them.

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