They make it up as they go along...

[didds]

House & contents insurance policy expires end of April .

I have a renewal quote form my current insurers, Company A, for £515.
I jump o0n a couple of comparison sites for quotes.

Best quote is for £495. TBH for the sake of £20 Im happy to take the renewal from A.

I check the renewal quote details. Based on £390K rebuild and 4 adults (family) in house. I note the comparison site rebuild guesstimate is showing 500K, and we now only have 3 adults in the house.

So I get onto online chat with company A.

The conversation goes something like this (this is VERY abbreviated).

Me: can i have a quote please for 500K rebuild and 3 adults
Much flapping with irrelevant questions and configmations of what I want versus what I have already been quoted.
A: That will be £515
Me: same as for 4 adults at 390K rebuild then.
much misunderstanding from A over my query. Eventually
A: yes.
Me: OK. There is a possibility that one of my children may be moving back home in the enxt year. What happens then?
A: you can call and update the policy. For £24 admin charge.
Me: OK. what is the quote for 4 adults, 500K rebuild

MUCH confusion by A over what i am requesting, and an attempt to change the xsiting policy 9with 3 weeks left oin it) for a £25 charge, which I nip in the bud.

Eventually...

Me: Just a quote for 500K rebuild and 4 adults 9family)
A: £4433.
Me: WHAT? 3 adults is £515 and 4 is £4433 ? EIGHT fold increase ?
A: Yes
Me: That cannot be right. Please check
A then rambles on about fluctuating markets, many fold reasons for premium changes etc
Me tries to interrupt the blather to just ask for a review of the 4K quote. A continues to ignore my please

Me: Look - I have an online quote from the comparison site for company A for 500K rebuild and 4 adults here for just shy of £600. How can you be quoiting me 3$K ?
A: starts to blather again.
Me: How can 3 adults be £515, and 4 adults be over four thousand pounds

sounds of penny dropping

A: that was a typing eror. It is £438.21.

Me: So you are now telling me 4 adults is £77 cheaper than 3 adults, same rebuild value and everything else
A: yes.

So our renewal at the end of the month will be an increased building cost and same adults - and almost £80 cheaper than their original quote.

They make it up as they go along.

That all took an hour. At leats in effect I earned £77/hour for it!

[monabri]

I bet you're filled with confidence about your insurance company! I'd gave gone with someone else based on their general lack of competence.

[didds]

I bet you're filled with confidence about your insurance company! I'd gave gone with someone else based on their general lack of competence.

I do follow that... but I dont trust any other insurance company any better. And ultimately of course its not actually company A, but the sub-continent based call centre that company A have contracted to do their triaging.

[stevensfo]

I bet you're filled with confidence about your insurance company! I'd gave gone with someone else based on their general lack of competence.

I do follow that... but I dont trust any other insurance company any better. And ultimately of course its not actually company A, but the sub-continent based call centre that company A have contracted to do their triaging.

This is the first time that I have heard them ask about how many adults live in the house!

Surely, the more adults in the house, the less chance that you'll be burgled?

What about a dog? Do have to specify which breed?



Steve

[DrFfybes]

What about a dog? Do have to specify which breed?

Steve

Not specifically as long as it isn't on the Dangerous Dogs list.

However some companies did want to know the age and weight!

[Bminusrob]

Don't get me started on buildings and contents insurance. I have just renewed mine, but the prices have got silly.

Last year, I paid £278 for buildings and contents (rebuild cost £500k, contents £75k, £250 excess on both). This year, about a month before renewal date, I start getting the usual emails from various thieves - confused.com, meercat.com, Saga and a couple of others. I also got a renewal email from the company I was with for £378, so an increase of £100 or over 35%. So, I tried the comparison sites, and their prices are even sillier, so I try Saga. They have a wonderful scam, where they will guarantee to keep your price the same for three years. Saga's three year price was £872. Yes, £872. Now some of the comparison sites were even sillier, but most weren't. I tried the Saga one year price, and that came out at £595, so well over double what I paid this year.

Finally, I tried one more comparison site. Exactly the same details as all the other quotes - and most of the prices were silly - £500 or more, except one - Saga, with a price of £355. I checked the details - no errors, so what is going on? I had already decided never to use Saga again after a previous bad experience. Clealy, this bad experience was not a one-off.

Eventually, I called the company I was already with, and with a bit of jiggery-pokery, got the price down to £354.

The world is mad.

[Gerry557]

What about a dog? Do have to specify which breed?

Steve

Not specifically as long as it isn't on the Dangerous Dogs list.

However some companies did want to know the age and weight!

I hope that was for the dog and not the wife
Otherwise none of us will have insurance

[Dicky99]

When I bought my place in 1998 I had a mortgage with Nationwide and so for convenience I took their contents insurance quote and have never needed to test the market because 25 years on, having never made a claim, last years renewal quote was just £7 per year more than in 1998.

This years renewal quote is 53% more How can that possibly be justified.

[Lootman]

When I bought my place in 1998 I had a mortgage with Nationwide and so for convenience I took their contents insurance quote and have never needed to test the market because 25 years on, having never made a claim, last years renewal quote was just £7 per year more than in 1998.

This years renewal quote is 53% more How can that possibly be justified.

It could be worse. My brother-in-law owns a beachfront property in Southern California. His property insurer wrote to him and outright cancelled his home insurance as of the next renewal date. Told him that they were "exiting" property and casualty insurance in California.

Apparently some other insurers are doing the same thing. So there are worse things than your insurance going up 50% after 25 years. You might not be able to get insurance at all and at any price!

[Dicky99]

When I bought my place in 1998 I had a mortgage with Nationwide and so for convenience I took their contents insurance quote and have never needed to test the market because 25 years on, having never made a claim, last years renewal quote was just £7 per year more than in 1998.

This years renewal quote is 53% more How can that possibly be justified.

It could be worse. My brother-in-law owns a beachfront property in Southern California. His property insurer wrote to him and outright cancelled his home insurance as of the next renewal date. Told him that they were "exiting" property and casualty insurance in California.

Apparently some other insurers are doing the same thing. So there are worse things than your insurance going up 50% after 25 years. You might not be able to get insurance at all and at any price!

I'll bear it in mind if I'm ever considering buying a property a few metres away from the Pacific ocean, or any other ocean for that matter.