Further to House Insurance

In message , Mark Opolo writes

Rebuilding costs will depend on what has to be done, the size and quality etc. If there is serious damage and a total replacement is required there will initially be demolition and clearance costs before you can even start so £115k doesn't sound enough unless you live in a very small house.

Look here, these might help:

t-of-your-home/

In message , Mark Opolo wrote

When renewing my buildings and contents insurance recently I found the cheaper quotes to be from companies offering a blanket £500k or £1M for rebuilding costs. Why bother trying to work out the true rebuilding costs when this kind of insurance will cover the majority of properties? In fact putting in a lower valuation for the rebuilding costs on many on-line sites made no significant difference to the price quoted, perhaps indicating that this was the lower risk element of the insurance.

Alan gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

what is the premium for such a policy.

Having recently renewed b & c also, I noticed that my rebuilding costs were "unlimited"

One of the conditions was that the house was not over a certain size (can't remember, but think it might have been 5 bedrooms) so that in reaility it is not much different from the blanket figure you quote.

My insurance has just renewed, am I free get a cheaper policy with higher cover for less cost with another provider and then cancel the old policy.

"Mark Opolo" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

I doubt that your current insurer will let you cancel without penalties. Just remember in time for your next renewal.

OK thanks,

I have had an online quote which is 250 per annum less than I currently pay for more benefit. So I have asked my current provider non the less....even if I have to pay 200 I can still gain 50.

I've never understood what constitutes a bedroom. My house has five rooms used as bedrooms but a different owner may have six rooms used as bedrooms or four rooms used as bedrooms.

In message , Mark Opolo writes

I, too, would be interested to know what a reasonable basic full-cover house buildings policy would be (and one with combined buildings and contents).

I've always had my house building insurance handled by the mortgage lender (which is a fairly usual state of affairs). However, the mortgage is now paid off, and it seems that I can get combined buildings and contents for £600 (!!!) less (several on-line quotations) than they were charging me. Does £225 seem too cheap? Cover is £500,000 and £50,000 respectively.

That's the price I am getting from Tesco for 1M and 50K using their mid range B&C.

This has been an eye opener for sure.

In message , Mark Opolo writes

Thanks for confirming that. I think Tesco was one of my quotations (or was it Sainsburys?).

I already have my car and home contents insured with the same company (the one with the ever-optimistic dog), and their lowest quote was £215 for B&C, joint wife and me.

I'll have to check tomorrow about what happens to my existing contents insurance (which was about £150), as I'm sure that the £215 is a stand-alone price, and does not take into account that I will be double-insured for nine months. I expect that they will cancel and refund but, even if they don't, I'll still be paying a heck of a lot less than I would have been with the mortgage provider! Being asked for £820 for buildings only, after 30 years in this house, and no-claims, is taking the mickey slightly. As they say, it does pay to shop around (well, at least, once in a while).

In message , Ian Jackson wrote

A lot depends on excess amount you want to pay and if you select accidental damage or buy additional services . You also have to change the insurance company every year to get a 25/30% new customer discount. Your loyalty to a company will be rewarded with £100's of extra premiums per year

My £500,000/£50,000 policy with default excesses and no accidental damage cost £165/year. The premium was actually £195 but I get £30 cash-back if I still have the policy in 3 months.

I would warn about reading the small print to see what is covered. One company with similar quotes didn't cover drains and one didn't cover windows unless you also took out the optional accidental damage. The policy I have covers both as standard in the basic cover.

Um. Isn't "buying Service B from provider of tangentially-related Service A" number one on the list of ways of being overcharged for this kind of thing? House insurance from mortgage lenders, mobile phone insurance from phone shops, travel insurance bundled into the package holiday (think that last one might even have been regulated now). All generally overpriced, for fairly obvious captive[1]-market reasons.

Pete

[1] Not really captive as such, since it *can* go elsewhere, but certainly you've no need to offer the best price to attract customers when your Service A is putting them in your office just waiting to be persuaded to tick the Service B box on the form.

This seems pretty good to me. I struggle to keep my B&C down below £300 and this is with a lower buildings cover. But then I have a few unusual things to insure, including bicycles!

(BTW I have always found "unlimited" or bedroom rated policies much more expensive but YMMV, as always).

I asked today and no penalties just 7 days notice.

Unfortunately, this is the default position for so many people and it allows the lender to fleece them because they assume they can't do anything about it it.

Rule no 1. Never take out buildings and contents insurance with your lender until you've checked that it's the best (not necessarily the cheapest, note). It almost certainly won't be.

Rob Graham

I cancelled with L&G today in pref to Tesco or Sainsbury's or even Direct Line.

My L&G policy states Buildings cover 115K which is, IMHO, undervalue. The policy premium was 530. Now the CS person says why am I leaving and I say well I can get a higher value buildings cover (1M) from another provider for 1/3 what I pay L&G. Then I quote the 115K figure...........ah she says, under your policy you are covered for full value even if more than that figure. Yes, you guessed, I am thinking, what if I had to make a claim and that figure is in print on my policy, would they have paid out more..........I very much doubt it.

And I will be paying for the new policy in one payment, no missed DD,s for me thanks.

Onwards and upwards.