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Should I buy the extra insurance.?

(44 Posts)
gillgran Thu 11-May-17 11:59:27

Hello,
We've just bought a new fridge/freezer, today I phoned to register it for the inclusive 3 year guarantee, spoke to a very pleasant lady who explained (very fully), that I needed to buy extra, comprehensive insurance to cover the whole thing for the next 4 years, including all the things that the brand guarantee doesn't cover, (long list)! We don't ussually buy this type of thing, should we.? do you.?

Maggiemaybe Fri 12-May-17 18:59:12

Not now, when basic white goods are so cheap. Our 30 year old chest freezer died on us recently and we found a replacement online for £90, including next day delivery and removal. Back in the day we had two brand new computers out of one extended warranty, but the stakes were a lot higher then.

We've also had the joy of arriving home from holiday to the foul smell of rotten food, due to my safety conscious DH unplugging what he thought was the tumble drier as we left...

Hollycat Fri 12-May-17 18:54:37

We have all our kitchen appliances, drains, boiler and electrics covered by British Gas. If they get called out to fix an appliance and find it's too old or just unrepairable they give you money towards a new appliance. We've had money for a dishwasher and a washing machine which couldn't be repaired. When the security light on the house up near the roof needed a new bulb they came out and replaced it, likewise the fluorescent strip in the garage. They're very good, well worth considering.

mumofmadboys Fri 12-May-17 18:41:14

I never buy extended warranties.

Angela1961 Fri 12-May-17 18:27:01

I'm sure it's still the same , I did some work in a well known shop and staff get a bonus for everyone they get to take up extended guarantees.

Jalima1108 Fri 12-May-17 16:10:21

joanne I remember when DB and DSIL let some visitors stay on in their house for a week whilst they were away overseas. Before they left, the visitors kindly turned off the gas and electricty.
Two weeks later DB and DSIL arrived home to a strange smell...

Jalima1108 Fri 12-May-17 16:08:08

Personally, I would see if your household insurance covers freezer contents - it is usually available as an add-on if not included and is quite cheap to do. The fridge/freezer is under guarantee anyway for the first 3 years according to the OP/

joannewton46 Fri 12-May-17 15:48:10

I might extend the freezer insurance - you have far more money tied up in its contents than in your fridge. As someone else said, how often do these go wrong?
Having said that, you might do what we must have done recently and accidentally turn the freezer off - fortunately we noticed after about 24 hours so nothing stank yet, but I really resented some of the things I had to throw away - about £300 worth in total. We switched it back on and it seems to be working fine.

Supergrannyknitknit Fri 12-May-17 14:55:08

Never bother as white goods are so reasonable and reliable these days.

Diddy1 Fri 12-May-17 14:42:18

Dont do it, there are probably all sorts of clauses, and that type of machine usually last at least ten years anyway.

fluff Fri 12-May-17 12:42:41

I had the hard sell on that a little while ago, with the salesman telling me that freezers aren't so well made nowadays and don't last as long, so I said "so you're telling me that your company sells shoddy freezers that you don't expect to last more than a year then?" he very quickly backtracked, I bet he was blushing on the other end of the phone!
Oh also freezers aren't usually covered under household insurance its usually only the contents in the event of a breakdown, and even then it's usually an added extra,

CardiffJaguar Fri 12-May-17 12:27:23

That is all about marketing hype and making more profit. As long as you are satisfied that you have bought a good product then forget about extra insurance. My experience over almost 60 years is that when things go wrong either the repair is a minor cost compared to the premiums saved or you need a new product meaning that premiumes paid are wasted.

lovebeigecardigans1955 Fri 12-May-17 12:27:01

I must say that I've never bothered with this for the reasons already mentioned. I believe that all the money spent on these premiums would more than pay for a replacement if things go wrong.

sarahellenwhitney Fri 12-May-17 12:14:31

Fridges freezers TV's etc, these days, are not meant to last.How else could the manufacturers still be in business.Investing in a long term insurance is not far off in terms of cost what a new but not over the top all singing and dancing appliance would cost.
Premiums have a nasty habit of going up.

Grampie Fri 12-May-17 12:13:31

In ten years we've not needed to replace any of our appliances except the circuit board on our gas boiler) when it was refitted wthin 24 hours.

Why not open a monthly savings account to repair or replace your appliances instead?

After ten years you may have saved enough to upgrade your appliances (or your gas boiler) to an even more efficient model.

Complete peace of mind can be very expensive!

inishowen Fri 12-May-17 11:52:46

No don't buy it.

quizqueen Fri 12-May-17 11:19:24

I would have said to that 'very pleasant lady', 'If you think your products are going to need repairs within a few years then that's the last time I will ever buy your brand because saying they will need an extended warranty is the worse kind of publicity as it suggests you have no faith in their performance'. I expect my appliances to last at least ten years without attention and if you're paying insurance for all that time, you will probably have paid almost enough to buy a new one anyway.

Legs55 Fri 12-May-17 11:17:05

I wouldn't buy insurance for a fridge/freezer although several years ago we did & ours went wrong & couldn't be repaired at 18 months old. The insurance (bought through Curry's) paid out a lot more than we had paid & so we bought a much better fridge/freezer, only drawback was we had to buy from Curry's & there was no change from voucher!! Never insured another though.

I did however take out insurance on my washer/dryer as I cannot do without it & on a limited income would find it hard to replace. I bought mine through supplier, repairs or new machine if anything goes wrong. Cost £60 per year. Machine cost almost £400 2 years ago, not sure of replacement cost now.

Lilyflower Fri 12-May-17 10:40:10

Some appliances have lots of mving parts and a great potential for breaking down so might need insurance. My British Gas service plan has been called on about seven times in the last six months to fix the washing machine, the tumble dryer, the dishwasher and the plumbing. It's been well worth the premium.

However, there is virtually nothing to go wrong on a fridge/freezer. My last fridge went for 37 years without a problem and we only got rid of it because it lokked awful in our new kitchen.

You would have to be very unlucky indeed to have anything go wrong on a new fridge.

Additionally, add up the annual service plan cost. I can almost guarantee that a couple of years' worth of payments would buy you a new fridge/freezer.

GrammaH Fri 12-May-17 10:37:30

No!!

radicalnan Fri 12-May-17 10:37:30

There is a list of how long appliances should last which vastly exceeds the usual 1 year warranty and EU states 2 years min for electrical goods..........people are too easily fobbed off by guarantees which are just there to protect the manufacturer.

Best save your money and relace things yourself if they go wrong, years down the line the latest thing will be far nicer than the one you are replacing.

00mam00 Fri 12-May-17 10:26:59

Never a fridge freezer, but always have breakdown insurance for the washing machine. When the children were in nappies (the real ones) our repair man came so often he was almost a member of the family.

I couldn't believe it when my DH bought a new armchair at furniture village and they strongly recommended taking out insurance. I laughed at the chap and said you are joking? But he was quite serious. Perhaps he was worried a leg might fall off. On the other hand would it cover my DH falling off the chair and breaking his neck?

kittylester Fri 12-May-17 08:39:24

We don't do it for fridge freezers but when one of mine died just after I had cooked up a storm and filled it with lasagne, curries, shepherd's pies and casseroles, I was livid to be asked to cost and photograph everything we had lost!

Izabella Fri 12-May-17 08:26:44

No. We use John Lewis who have extended warranty anyway.

Hopehope Fri 12-May-17 00:23:47

I wouldn't do it either. Fridge freezers are not that expensive to buy in the first place. I know they can be if you have a wonderful fancy one which does everything barring sing dixie, but mine, well they freeze stuff, or keep it cool. I would also squirrel a bit away for when the passing of the fridge/freezer happens .

grannysyb Thu 11-May-17 19:52:40

Ex's brother worked for Dixon's many years ago and said they made a fortune out of these insurance policies, I've never bought any!