The Lemon Fool

The insurance company sent me a renewal quote for my home and contents insurance recently and, today, I got an online competitor’s quote (from Aviva) to check it.

I’m happy with the cover provided and have been loyal to my insurer for many years.

Aviva’s quote was for comparable cover. I kept the conversation very friendly but gently ensured the person I spoke to understood I was in a position to move.

The result was that the renewal cost was reduced by just over £100. (Roughly 30%).

Having done this before, for fun I asked Mrs H to time this excercise. She reckoned that it took me 15 minutes. So a saving of £100 for a quarter of an hour’s work means that I am earning at a rate of £400 an hour net.

As my marginal rate of tax is 40%, my gross income before tax was (briefly!) £667 an hour.

I’ve posted this really to encourage others to have a go at saving on their insurance bills. As posters here have written before it’s worth a little bit of research.

And if it wasn’t dry January, I’d have cracked open a bottle to celebrate.

regards

Howard

I saw a penny on the pavement this morning.

Being reasonably fit and flexible I estimate that it took me about 2 seconds to bend down, pick it up and put it in my pocket.

I think that is an after tax earning rate of a mere £18 per hour. Was it worth it? What would others have done?

I think next time I will hold out for a 2p or 5p before repeating the exercise.

argoal wrote:I saw a penny on the pavement this morning.

Being reasonably fit and flexible I estimate that it took me about 2 seconds to bend down, pick it up and put it in my pocket.

I think that is an after tax earning rate of a mere £18 per hour. Was it worth it? What would others have done?

I think next time I will hold out for a 2p or 5p before repeating the exercise.

At university I used to sweep up in a night club, the floor was awash with stale beer n cider, plastic cups, fag butts and general detritus, there was always change on the floor but I made a rule, I won't bend down for brown money.

Caveat: each to their own etc ...

So if I understand this correctly, you did all the work for a cheaper quote then gave the business to the company that didn't offer you the reduced quote to start with? So you did their leg work for them for them to still take your money? Think Id want a substantial extra discount to let them keep my business. Or come to that Id probably just give the business to the company that didn't extract the urine to start with.

But as I say - each to their own etc.

didds

didds wrote:Caveat: each to their own etc ...

So if I understand this correctly, you did all the work for a cheaper quote then gave the business to the company that didn't offer you the reduced quote to start with? …

Sometimes, when changing insurer, the new insurer will also require a survey at some stage. That in itself is time-consuming and comes at a cost.

Fair enough PD - I never knew that. In twenty years of mortgaging our home Ive never been asked for a survey ... so this was news to me.



didds

kempiejon wrote:At university I used to sweep up in a night club, the floor was awash with stale beer n cider, plastic cups, fag butts and general detritus, there was always change on the floor but I made a rule, I won't bend down for brown money.

Coppers in my change go straight into the charity tin if available. Failing that, in the nearest bin.

Scott.

I often find 5p in the street and quite often £1. Our streets or not exactly paved with gold but..........

Coppers are a pain but only this morning I had 12 1p pieces which I used to partly satisfy the cost of a stamp. I would never throw them away. Many a mickle makes a muckle and all that.

Dod

finding coins in the street is always a challenge. bending to pick them up is relatively easy....getting back upright is becoming harder!!

swill453 wrote:Coppers in my change go straight into the charity tin if available. Failing that, in the nearest bin.

Sad - I always put anything below 50 pence in a jar in the bedroom. Then whenever one of the grandchildren or young friend is going on a gap year I give them the jar (and also a cheque equal to the contents of the pot ). Last one (just after Christmas) contained £47.63. So my 17 year old great niece got £95 to help fund her year in South America.

Why double it? Well so much is paid by contactless methods these days that I do not get the coins I used to

BusyBumbleBee wrote:

swill453 wrote:Coppers in my change go straight into the charity tin if available. Failing that, in the nearest bin.

Sad - I always put anything below 50 pence in a jar in the bedroom. Then whenever one of the grandchildren or young friend is going on a gap year I give them the jar (and also a cheque equal to the contents of the pot ).

Ditto, except that I do it with anything smaller than 20 pieces, which are small enough to be viable as pocket-fodder. Mine go into a piggybank which gets emptied once a year for the benefit of our local hospice charity. The savings on pocket wear and tear mean in effect that the charity is doing me a favour, rather than vice versa.

Which reminds me. Isn't it technically an offence to chuck her majesty's coinage into the bin?

BJ

bungeejumper wrote:Which reminds me. Isn't it technically an offence to chuck her majesty's coinage into the bin?

No.

HTH.

Scott.

swill453 wrote:No.

HTH.

Thank you for taking the time to reply so helpfully. I have no words to describe my gratitude at your boundless generosity.

BJ

Money is money. 1p, 2p, 5p (I hate 5p coins) whatever. I often end up with a pocketful. Then I have the pleasure of getting rid of it.

I stand in the queue to pay for an item that I know the price of and count out the coins in such a way that it lightens my pocket by as much as possible. I love those self service check outs at supermarkets, I can get rid of a pocketful all in one go.

My pet hate is those machines where you put all your change in and get a slip out that you can use at the checkout to pay for your shop...after the machine has deducted it's cut. The thing that drives me mad is the sign on them that reads something like 'swap your change for real money'.

didds wrote:Caveat: each to their own etc ...

So if I understand this correctly, you did all the work for a cheaper quote then gave the business to the company that didn't offer you the reduced quote to start with? So you did their leg work for them for them to still take your money? Think Id want a substantial extra discount to let them keep my business. Or come to that Id probably just give the business to the company that didn't extract the urine to start with.

But as I say - each to their own etc.

didds

The missing figures from this story are how much was Aviva's quote going to save, and how much less than that the final renewal cost was.

Then we (or the OP) can calculate the hourly rate involved in getting the Aviva quote, and the rate involved in getting the additional discount. Then he can value it all against his time .

There is certainly some attraction on not switching if the saving is only small - avoiding the hassle etc. How small that has to be is a personal choice. Personally I don't switch car insurance if the saving is only £10/£15. If it's more I switch. Probably the same for house insurance.

sg31 wrote:My pet hate is those machines where you put all your change in and get a slip out that you can use at the checkout to pay for your shop...after the machine has deducted it's cut.

I've got a different pet hate

Scott.

... I always put anything below 50 pence ...

and

.... Ditto, except that I do it with anything smaller than 20 pieces ....

Are whese actually the same thing - i.e we don't put 50p or £1 or £2 coins in the pot?

presumably the former includes 20p coins, while the latter doesn't?

didds

didds wrote:presumably the former includes 20p coins, while the latter doesn't?

Exactly so. 20p coins have a value-to-pocket-clutter ratio that makes it past my personal threshold. They still make a meaningful difference at car parking meters, for instance.

And another thing. When little Iolanthe is standing beside the till with a fund-raising bucket for her class's upcoming visit to Japan , I might not feel I want to chuck a fistful of fifties into the coffers. It can be useful to have a few smaller-denomination coins around.

Bah, humbug.

BJ

bungeejumper wrote:And another thing. When little Iolanthe is standing beside the till with a fund-raising bucket for her class's upcoming visit to Japan

To visit Nanki-Poo with her two little friends from school?

didds