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Household Contents Insurance

Just wondered who people have used , good / bad experiences of different companies used , and roughly how much you paid / saved a year?

Comments

  • RBS Home Ins, they are all pretty much the same until you make a claim. Had a nightmare with Saga 2 years ago so I would avoid like the plague.
  • Aviva were really good with my claim and dealt with it no problem, however the really ramped up the premium at the following renewal, my bank then offered me a deal at half the price even knowing about the claim.
  • A lot depends of course on your age, your location and the degree of 'protection' you have; alarms, barred windows, portcullis, armed response teams availability, stuff like that. I have had quotes on the same info and with roughly the same cover varying from £350 to £90 per year. Check out the websites, moneysupermarket.com etc and you'll find some good deals, especially as a new customer
  • The trick is never to renew automatically, as you can always get a better deal as a "first time buyer". Most companies offer decent options, I've used Co-Op, M&S, and recently Direct Line, but a nice guy at M&S told me some time back that the annual renewal cost was higher than if I went back to them as a new customer (which I then did); this has since proved consistent across other co's. So get yourself a good deal - make sure it covers any extra's like out of house losses and the single item limits are what you need - then when they send you that renewal letter next year, check out the co's price if you were a new customer and call them up about it and demand it.
  • More Than were doing a deal where you get free contents cover with your buildings insurance as long as you don't make a claim. This was enough for me to beat any other quote as I needed both. Not sure if they still do it but if they do and you need buildings cover then it's a good deal.
  • edited October 2013
    Fully agree with Pedro. I am insured with Churchill for cars and home/contents. Every year, the renewal seems extortionate so I go to the Churchill site and get a new quote - with exactly the same cover. Invariably it comes in much cheaper and I then ring Churchill to either amend my existing renewal to the online quote OR close down my existing policy and set up a new one based on the new quote!. I saved around £60 for each car a couple of months ago. A few years back I reduced my home and contents by around£150 by this method!

    just be careful around excesses. The way they are expressed on the website can be different from your quote, so be careful when entering your new quote online to make sure it is like for like
  • I've used Allianz, was far cheaper than anyone else with personal possessions covered out of the home etc, fortunately not had to make a claim yet and hope never have to.
  • Made a claim for new ceiling after water damage and Hiscox paid out without any questions and cheque arrived before I knew they had accepted claim. Six months later discovered floor was lifting and they sent cheque for a new floor based on quote and a photo. Excellent service. Cheap isn't always best.
  • Made a claim for new ceiling after water damage and Hiscox paid out without any questions and cheque arrived before I knew they had accepted claim. Six months later discovered floor was lifting and they sent cheque for a new floor based on quote and a photo. Excellent service. Cheap isn't always best.

    Dippenhall did your insurance renewals goes through the roof , pardon the pun , after you had made a claim , i've just found out my Buildings insurance policy has a £150 excess and also the contents Insurance has a £150 , so £300 out before i've started , plus £124 for 1 night in a hotel for 4 of us , & then the electric meter is racing after having 2 dehumidifiers going 8-12 hours a day , for what could be 2 months plus.

  • Good point, haven't got to renewal yet.
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  • edited October 2013
    We had an incident a few years ago where water leaked from a washing machine in the kitchen, and flooded it , turns out mice from the garage had chewed through metal pipes , what was a £400 a year policy went to £800 a year , i'm dreading to think whats coming with this latest episode.
  • We had an incident a few years ago where water leaked from a washing machine in the kitchen, and flooded it , turns out mice from the garage had chewed through metal pipes , what was a £400 a year policy went to £800 a year , i'm dreading to think whats coming with this latest episode.

    I would be more worried about the mice!
  • Our leak was squirrels chewing through plastic pipe in loft, seems rodents are no1 enemy.
  • I'm with... Aviva I think. Or someone else that defers to Aviva. Got burgled 2 years ago and they paid for everything, and did it real fast too. They tried to replace most things but paid cash for the rest. About 10-15 quid a month I think. Used them for a couple of things since (broken iPad, broken glasses) and not had a problem.
  • Be careful with contents insurance - make sure you insure for the correct sum. Insurance companies will only pay out what you insure for, which sounds simple. What it means however is that if you insure for 40,000 contents, and in the event of a claim they assess your contents at 80,000, they will only pay out 50% of your insured amount i.e 20,000 as you only paid 50% of the premium. One of my clients had a large book collection of 3000 books which the insurance company valued at £10 per book - that was £30000 immediately so make sure you value all items not just the big things / electronics / fridges etc
    Hiscox have a very good reputation
  • yes the principle of insurance which you refer to there Croydon is called Average.

    designed to penalise under-declaration of insurable interests. without such a penalty, there would be no incentive to properly declare the true value of your insured assets and consequently allow the underwriter to properly price the policy.

    i can only echo those who recommend Hiscox as the most "claims friendly" provide of UK personal lines insurance.

    check your proposal form at least a few times before finalising it. its the most used method for insurance companies to avoid paying out on a claim as they say you have made a misrepresentation or non-disclosure on the policy form. one method then available is to pay you back your premium and cancel the policy from the date it incepted ("ab initio")

    and if u do get your claim denied on such grounds, remember to ask for the refund of the premium!!! its an often over-looked silver lining to claims rejection.
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