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Home contents insurance rip off

Discussion in 'Rant and Rave' started by bigmac, Sep 3, 2021.

  1. bigmac
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    bigmac Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    just had my renewal through--Direct Line.
    Been with them 9 years--never made a claim. Usually about £20 ish each year.
    Last year--£24...
    This time...£61!!

    I phoned to find out why--was told just general price rise--lowest renewal premium the person had seen was £60....thats a hell of a hike--

    i can halve that with many other companies on the comparison sites.
  2. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    £24 for home contents is amazing even £61 is amazing, are you potentially underinsured at £24?

    My renewal quote for contents only from LV came in at this, a little lower because of the pandemic however I switched to my bank's cover because I got a substantial discount from them think it cost me 80 odd pounds in the end.

    And I like LV I think they would actually pay out and the level of cover was very good.
    upload_2021-9-3_16-20-23.png
  3. Anon220806
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    Anon220806 Well-Known Member

    That seems very low. Ours is £ 179 for the year. It does depend a bit on where you live. Low crime rate in IOW? Also it depends on the amount of cover one has… If you have a Picasso on the wall then home insurance would be higher. :D
  4. bigmac
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    bigmac Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    £50k contents cover--with a voluntary excess of £500. Been with them for 9 years--4 different addresses.

    i was with LV for buildings only --£60 a year.and had water damage claim 2 years ago--£18,000. They doubled the premium following year--so i switched and paid £65 in july.
  5. bigmac
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    bigmac Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    here you go--lowest quote ( £15,000 contents cover.) loads available .

    [​IMG]
    £31.08 annually


    or £2.59 a month

    Deposit of £2.59
    11 x £2.59
    Total of £31.08
    Contents
    • £15,000Cover
    • £500Voluntary Excess
    • -£100Compulsory Excess
    • £400Total Excess
    • Accidental damage
    Legal AssistanceAdd for £25.80
    Home Emergency CoverAdd for £37.56
    New for OldIncluded as standard
    Freezer Contents CoverIncluded as standard
    Money CoverIncluded as standard
    Credit Card CoverNot available
  6. bigmac
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    bigmac Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    or...

    [​IMG]
    £31.50 annually


    or £2.96 a month

    Deposit of £3.15
    11 x £2.96
    Total of £35.71
    Contents
    • £40,000Cover
    • £500Voluntary Excess
    • £100Compulsory Excess
    • £600Total Excess
    • Accidental damage
    Legal AssistanceAdd for £27.99
    Home Emergency CoverAdd for £27.99
    New for OldIncluded as standard
    Freezer Contents CoverIncluded as standard
    Money CoverIncluded as standard
    Credit Card Cover
  7. Anon220806
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    Anon220806 Well-Known Member

    We have £80,000 of cover.

    It just goes to show it pays to shop around.

    We have just renewed our fuel supply agreement. Our old supplier B.Gas were on the phone looking to reduce their tariff. I had to say, too late mate, it’s job done. :D
    Last edited: Sep 3, 2021
  8. Mattecube
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    Mattecube face the sunshine so shadows fall behind you Trusted Member

    I've used Nationwide home insurance for years made 1 claim didn't knock my premium paying £38 per annum on £100k cover.
  9. bigmac
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    bigmac Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    i bank nationwide--i must give them a look.
  10. Anon220806
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    Anon220806 Well-Known Member

    Just did some research. I think we are getting robbed. Looking back the provider has been raising premiums in big chunks this last few years. Sneaky.

    @oss

    Looks like Bigmac is right. But maybe premiums are loaded a bit for Liverpool? :D
    Last edited: Sep 3, 2021
  11. Anon220806
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    Anon220806 Well-Known Member

    Me too. I will look Nationwide up.
  12. bigmac
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    bigmac Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    not competitive--£56 a year. Huh. With the cash ive got stashed there they should give it me free. Come to think of it--i dont need contents insurance anyway. My furniture aint worth jack sh*t.
  13. bigmac
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    bigmac Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    the more you think of it--contents cover is poor value. My house--value about £300K...building premium in july was £65..and i had that major claim 2 years ago.

    i cant recall ever making a contents claim in over 50 years. I think if a burglar broke in he wouldnt bother--just leave empty handed.
  14. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    We're all with Nationwide then, at least something we can all agree on :D

    I'm about £80 with Nationwide but I considered that a good deal, I have cover for some of my camera gear included in that.

    Malcolm if you do a room survey and think new for old it all adds up quickly even in this pitiful corner of the world where I am, I'd probably lose 40,000 in a fire but the thing that would hurt me is the loss of memories I have a lot of junk.

    When I lived in Scotland in the late 1980s and early 90s I was broken into 5 times never made a claim and never actually lost anything as everything they got was recovered, it was a rotten experience though.

    For me I am looking for an insurance company that will actually pay out and a lot of them I don't trust to actually do that, I don't think Nationwide's underwriters are great or at least not as good as LV would have been but LV was just not competitive against Nationwide this time.
  15. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    Are you guys both Buildings and Contents i.e. you both own your homes?

    I rent and its a flat which might push up the perceived risk.
  16. Anon220806
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    Anon220806 Well-Known Member

    I stopped contents insurance for a few years between divorce and remarrying - not enough contents to bother. :D But in the past I have made several smaller claims but they were during life spent in the suburbs of Manchester. A couple of bicycle thefts (2 occasions) for example. But never anything major. It recent years no claims whatsoever. I suppose we all fear the consequence of a bad burglary or a fire, that drives us to insure our contents. Having said that my understanding is that many people are under insured on contents insurance and under estimate the cost to replace contents should it be stolen, flooded out etc.

    I recall my insurer was good value at the time I took out an agreement in 2017 but they have sneakily put the premiums up, since.
  17. bigmac
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    bigmac Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    having worked in insurance for years--including claims..i know many were fraudulent--or enhanced. And insurers are just as bad,,hiking up renewal premiums knowing many customers just pay up without comparing.

    Or do the algorythms indicate customers will make a claim after x number of claim free years..?---so the renewal is hiked to drive them away?

    Another way to look at it...premiums are often tiny compared to the risk as a whole---so surely the risk is very small. Like my building insurance..£65 for 300 grand cover...so just how likely is my house to burn down ?
  18. bigmac
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    bigmac Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    i sold up and rented ( 2 flats ) in 2013 till july 2016--then bought the place i'm in now. I rented to free up the capital to use as proof of financial requirement for my wife's visas.. then in 2016 i inherited by late fathers estate.
    i'm now getting the agents in to value this house..may well be on the move again next year.
  19. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    I remember you were renting wasn't sure if you had bought your current place.
  20. John Surrey
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    John Surrey Well-Known Member

    I don't have home insurance here... and I never used to bother with it in the UK...

    Think it was because the excess was so high it didn't really make sense to me.

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