Any - Buildings & contents insurance

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Thu 4 Apr 2019 21:27
Any - Buildings & contents insurance - nick62

Just had my renewal for my buildings & contents insurance.

I've been with the same company for a long as I can remember (10+ years) and always "have a go" at them every year when the premium goes up. This has usually resulted in a "discount" of some sort. They are a well known company and in fairness have no silly clauses (I have several mature trees close to the house within my boundary for instance). Last year I upped my excess to get the cost down to an acceptable price, but the new quote has gone up by 31% (£656 to £858 including Ken Clarke's £92 IPT). This is despite me never having claimed, ever.

The letter apologises for the increase and even though I have never claimed, it states it is due to the unprecedented pay-outs for burst pipes and water damage.

Almost makes me wonder if it's worth the bother!

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Thu 4 Apr 2019 22:01
Any - Buildings & contents insurance - Falkirk Bairn

Same thing happened to me - car premium up 60% after being with Esure 15 years and not claiming, apart from 1 x glass - moved to Aviva as they were about the same as I had been paying.

Been with Aviva nearly 2 years.

1 month later House Insurance leapt by 50%+, again Esure - so I moved to Legal & General - paid significantly less for "more cover". Again coming up for 2 years and still paying the same as I did back in 2012 or thereabouts.

My son has had a similar experience to you with house & contents - 2 months back £400 / yr upped to nearly £600. He is now back with Esure having left them 2 years ago when they played silly beggars. IIRC he now pays Esure £320 - £340 ish.

He has now left Aviva for his car insurance as it went up markedly - now Direct Line IIRC

It pays to shop around. Tips on MSE for comparison sites & haggling. My Sky would have been £120 TV & BB now but after cancelling they came back 10 days later, dropped Cinema (£12) and now paying £67 inc Sky Sports, an additional SkyQ box & 4K for the football!

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Fri 5 Apr 2019 12:55
Any - Buildings & contents insurance - concrete

I think the experience that Nick describes is quite common. For years I was with LV for car and house. Then they went silly and I changed to Tesco, who were very good for a couple of years, then they went silly. Back to LV which is very competitive and just renewed the house insurance with them. I think we all are aware enough to trawl the internet for a decent quote from a decent company, but it now seems essential to do that or be taken for a loyal fool. My house hold insurance is a fraction of Nicks' at approx £100 for buildings and contents. We now only inhabit a small house, 3 bedrooms etc etc fairly box standard construction. Excess is £200 mandatory and £100 voluntary but we do not have accidental damage cover or any other frills. Even our old house with 5 bedrooms, double garage, large gardens with trees was only a couple of hundred in total. £600 plus seems excessive, although you may have a house that would be very expensive to rebuild it still seems a high premium.

Cheers Concrete

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Fri 5 Apr 2019 14:42
Any - Buildings & contents insurance - sammy1

Must be living in Buckingham Palace to pay that money. have you tried compare the meerkats!

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Fri 5 Apr 2019 15:08
Any - Buildings & contents insurance - nick62

Must be living in Buckingham Palace to pay that money. have you tried compare the meerkats!

Generous Victorian semi (semi's are usually cost more than a detached due to possibility of collateral damage IMOE), large mature trees close to house within boundary, large city postcode and conservation area. It couldn't be worse really (unless it was London)?

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Fri 5 Apr 2019 18:12
Any - Buildings & contents insurance - concrete

Must be living in Buckingham Palace to pay that money. have you tried compare the meerkats!

Generous Victorian semi (semi's are usually cost more than a detached due to possibility of collateral damage IMOE), large mature trees close to house within boundary, large city postcode and conservation area. It couldn't be worse really (unless it was London)?

Sounds like my old place when the kids were growing up. Victorian terrace of five houses.12" skirting boards, internal doors thicker than most new external doors etc etc. We had trees within the boundary. The nearest big tree was 40 feet away which seemed to satisfy them. Still only paid a couple of hundred all in. A good trawl around could save you the price of a hundred pints!! Worth considering.

Good luck Concrete

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Wed 17 Apr 2019 17:45
Any - Buildings & contents insurance - nick62

Just got alternative cover via John Lewis (the same as the store) for £485, (so I've saved more than £370).

As far as I can see the cover is virtually identical, except I have reduced my excess liability by 50% (from £1,000 to £500) which is a bonus.

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Thu 20 Jun 2019 13:05
Any - Buildings & contents insurance - nick62

My travel insurance company is at it now.

Renewal for annual cover up more than 34% (was £158, renewal cost £213).

I know IPT was increased to 20% on taxable travel insurance, but that was in 2011. Nice stealth tax when it was 2.5% at introduction.

I'm sure they have a cartel.

Edited by nick62 on 20/06/2019 at 13:10

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