Contents Insurance

The face to face visit will give them the opportunity to try and sell their other insurance products.

We renew ours online every year after using a price comparison site. We're currently insuring building and contents with John Lewis and they have been very competitive for the last 2 years. Their customer service rating is also good.

I was just watching TV when an advert for NFU Mutual came on, and it started that little voice in my head asking when I last renewed the home insurance. So I looked at the policy and of course it has expired - in May 2014!

Since NFU Mutual had prompted me to check, I decided to give them a chance to quote for my business. I went to their website to get a quote and discovered that they only give quotes in person. To get a quote from them you need to make an appointment for their agent to call and he will give you the quote.

I think I will get some online quotes first.

Make a note on your calendar about two or three weeks before your insurance renewal is due and do a bit of homework to find the best cover for the most affordable premium. DO NOT let the insurance company automatically renew - it is always dearer than it needs to be! Have a look at lovely Martin Lewis' moneysavingexpert.com website for help.
Last year we paid under three hundred pounds (think it was about £250) for buildings and contents insurance. Six months later we were struck by lightning and it cost thousands to put things right. Our excess was about £150 but the company paid everything we asked, and offered services we'd not have thought to ask for. Money well spent!

I now live in a Park Home - I am a Retired Civil Servant & as a Member of the Motoring Association I get cheaper Insurance. We used to have all our Insurance (cars/contents/buildings) with LV. When we moved to our Park Home I rang them to insure new home only to find they don't insure Park Homes so I am now with a Specialist Insurer & Contents/Buildings are a combined policy underwritten by LV !!!!!

When you take out a Mortgage Buildings are not automatically insured any more but Lender will try to sell you their Policy - much better to shop around.

When I did my HND in Business Studies our Law Lecturer drummed it into us the dangers of being underinsured - Insurace Companies are not stupid so be careful, most people underestimate the true value of contents just look around your own home, look in your kitchen, wardrobe, airing cupboard what would it cost you to replace, it's frightening

Of course people should get their house and contents insured but I'm sure there are some who really are finding it very difficult to make ends meet and perhaps can't afford to - especially in areas that are at significant risk of flooding or subsidence. I feel sorry for people who either took a chance on having no insurance or overlooked renewing it. It is a silly thing to do but I would certainly contribute to a fund for any person or family who found themselves destitute.

Every year my mum gets a quote from her insurance company that shows an increase in premium way above inflation levels. Every year I get on to them and point this out, and the fact that my mum has never made a claim on the policy. They then go away to "speak to the manager" and come back with an offer that is just a few pounds more (or on a couple of occasions a few pounds less!) than the previous year. These insurance companies try it on and unfortunately it is elderly people and people who are less aware of issues like this who end up paying far above what they should be paying. The person on here who said she was paying "£120 a month" would perhaps benefit from ringing round for different quotes as this seems like an awful lot of money to me.

Indubitably!

They must have been in the pocket of one of his Armani suits.

You mean he didn't keep his receipts Elegran ?

A friend's husband worked as a loss adjuster. He had tales from the other side of the desk - scruffy layabouts in dirty T-shirts who claimed for a dozen Armani suits and scores of handmade shoes, cashmere sweaters and expensive shirts, allegedly lost in a house fire. And no, the layabout wasn't scruffy because his good clothes had all been burnt, that was his habitual wear, and the fire had started in his empty abandoned flat, which he had left to move in with a girlfriend.

You mean a loss adjuster Riverwalk probably.

Our loss assessor was working for us, the loss adjuster 'works for the insurance company and his/her job is to keep their payouts to a minimum ie. adjust the claims down as much as they can. Which is why they tried to undercut your payment. They have no legal leg to stand in as your insurance policy would have read that you were insured 'up to' a certain amount. As you had the nous to call their bluff (well done you) they had to pay you what you were due.

Thank you, Riverwalk,

A long time back when we were burgled and jewellery and valuables taken an assessor visited and claimed we were under-insured and would apply an 'average' as Monica says. It was along the lines of, under-insured by 30%, so 30% off payout.

We refused this and after much correspondence received our rightful full amount.

And....very interestingly (and surprisingly) because my 'buildings and contents' were under the same policy I only had to pay one excess of £200 on my recent claim.

I was expecting £200 excess on each part.

Sorry Monica that is NOT the way it works and that is not what 'under insured'' means.

Ana is perfectly correct in asking 'how would your insurance company know' because that shows the flaws in your example. If you make a claim for £500, then that's what you get (if the claim us approved) minus your excess.

No idea, you would have to ask them. I suspect for smaller claims they do not bother. It is cheaper to pay out, but it is always possible.

M0nica, how would the insurance company know you were under-insured if you were only making a claim for £500?

At least as long as you have a mortgage, or are renting from a responsible landlord, the buildings insurance is covered.

I suppose if you lived in a really rough area with a high crime rate you might easily be tempted to save on contents insurance as the premiums would just keep rising after every claim.

Anya Take an insurance claim of £500, in the example of £25,000 insurance and contents value of £50,000, averaging means that all your insurance company would offer you would be £250, less your excess, say an excess of £250, the result would be £500 claimed, £0 received.

Actually the amount claimed is irrelevant. If you under insure, whether by 10%, 30% or even 90%, your claim whether for £500, £5,000 0r £50,000 will be reduced by the percentage of your under insurance.

Spot on toffeyGirl, you can't afford to be without insurance, unless you have to buy food first, and there a lot of young and elderly people in that position.

So many people these days simply can't afford insurance. If you live in a really rough area the premiums can be really high and if you are trying to put food on the table, pay the gas and electric and keep a roof over your head then insurance is the last thing you think of.

Hooty I don't understand your post

We all dislike paying insurance, but it's worth it for peace of mind. I get really cross when people expect others to rally round when they experience theft, ill health, fire, etc, but haven't bothered to take out insurance. I have a friend whose husband flatly refuses to buy insurance. It is a great worry to her.

If you lost your house and or contents due to a fire or whatever elsewhere, wouldn't their insurance have to pay for your damage? (Personal liabilities bit?) or would your insurers pursue them? Seems a bit unfair if not, to me anyway, as you would lose your no claims discount if you had one through no fault of your own and your premiums would rocket.

Some years ago a good friend had a house fire and afterwards she said the 2 things she missed were her photos and her cook books,so since then I have put copies of precious photos in a fire proof safe and distributed spare copies old children's school photos etc. to all my kids.My friends insurers were brilliant and very helpful.