Home insurance rates

Change your insurer!

Direct Line are OK if you are a new customer (they want your business) but the premiums just keep going up even without a claim. Shop around. They wanted 160 to insure my car, last year it was 149. No claims for 15 years. I shopped around and got it for 103 and 50 of Argos vouchers as a freebie. So effectively a years car insurance fully comp for 53.

Ron

I think that might be the answer. A quick 'quotemehappy' online session suggests they're 200/year cheaper, depending on their loading for items over their single item value limit.

The price Lloyds TSB charges me for home insurance is cheaper than what they quote online for me as a new customer, and cheaper than I can get anywhere else.

As someone ellse has already mentioned, companies give you a good deal if you are a new customer but follow up with hefty increases next time around. My car insurance went from £203 to £460. I changed companies and got it for £160. My buildings insurance went from £111 to £260, I changed companies and it's £85. Try the insurance quotes on the Motley fool site.

In article , snipped-for-privacy@freeserve.co.uk writes

You don't even have to change insurance company. Every year I go online and feed in the same details to the same company and get a much cheaper price than the renewal notice.

If you try that as an existing customer with your own details on

it won't let you have a quote. It will reject you. This means you cannot carry out any 'what ifs' to see (for example) how much you might save by increasing the excess. A telephone call to Saga confirmed this is their idea of good customer service.

If you go in as your next door neighbour to try to fool the system a cookie tries to stop you doing it.

If you delete the cookie then after about four 'what ifs' you are forced to a page which suggests you are having difficulty using the site and gives you no further options but a phone call. Maybe Saga believe that no one over 50 is able to use web facilities effectively. As a result of their idiocy they are in danger of losing my business this year.

companies

The site appears to identify you by home address and name so there is no bypassing the system if you really intend to renew the insurance. Going in as someone else, on another computer if you wish, still runs up against the problem of being kicked off after about four 'what ifs' and put on the 'phone page' with no escape. Saga actually rang me after landing up there and told me the system is put there to help. It doesn't help those of us happy to explore the site and will suit only those who are genuinely confused. I think it is an insult to their customers. We are not all Gaga.

Could you log on with a friends/colleagues computer or library/internet cafe?

OK I know this does not answer the question but thought it was an interesting sideline.

Apparently with British Gas's 3 star service you pay less in the first year than the second but more in the second year than the third. I think it is marginally cheaper in the first year than the third but not enough to worry about it.

Now that is stupid.

They wouldn't let me cancel and take it out again.