Insurance Rant

dry664

So I just called up my home contents insurance company to add a diamond ring and at the same time increase the cover on my bike from £1500 to £2500. The bike and the ring are the only items outside of the policy's £1500 limit for individual items to be taken away from the property. Im then told that because these specific items are greater than £5000 that my current insurer wont continue to insure me so I have to get a new 12 month policy. Whats more im only entitled to 3 months credit even though the current policy has only been running for 4 months. Really angry at this point but I can just about live with this.
As the 'lady' is then going through ts&cs on the new policy, she speedily says 'In the event of loss or damage, bikes, bedding and flooring will not be covered on a new for old basis.....' WHAT?? Accoring to the 'lady' its standard on all home contents policies. I then told her to add the ring, cancel the bike and I would find a specific insurance for that. She told me that I couldnt do it because they now know about the bike. I then told her to cancel the whole lot and credit my card. For the record the broker was The AA. Thoughts?

The Rookie

Of course you could take the bike off the insurance and cover elsewhere, if you had iot covered elsewhere you didn't have to tell tyhem about it after all.

Having said that, they get to be cheapest by making cuts elsewhere.

dmorton

I'm with the AA.....

I knew about the non-new for old basis. My bikes are locked up to a wall anchor with two large chains. The insurance is my safety net.

I did have independent insurance for bikes but this was pricey and if you cancel halfway you got nothing back, but it was new for old. ETA I think I was with....

Marks and Spencer home insurance might be worth a look?

Insurance companies are all about risk so the more they know about you the more they can classify the risk. E.g. if you have a minor accident in your car (no third party damage, e.g. scraping the car against your garden wall). You maybe consider getting it fixed without the claiming on insurance, as you might have excess to pay and your premium will rise. Don't phone the insurance company and ask how much it will be to fix. They will note down that you've had an accident and your premium will rise regardless if you actually claim.... it's common practice in all walks of insurance, car, buildings, contents etc. They may also pass this information onto other insurance companies. There was a TV programme (Watchdog?) all about this a few months ago

cooldad

dry664 wrote:

So I just called up my home contents insurance company to add a diamond vejazzle....

I think I see your problem.

dry664

cooldad wrote:

dry664 wrote:

So I just called up my home contents insurance company to add a diamond vejazzle....

I think I see your poonani.

Just to give a little more detail, my old insurance with The AA was £175/yr for contents only. After my conversation with the 'lady' she tried to move me onto a different product with another insurer which would be £245.
Just went on The Meerkat, added in the ring, the upgraded bike and some extra insurance for my beloved golf clubs and cheapest quote was.....£167.....from....THE AA!!

What do I do? Reinsure with The AA and accept its not new for old on the bike or does anyone have a better idea? Thx

t0pc4t

would say it depends on the next quote up and whether they offer new for old

miss notax

I had a nightmare trying to sort out insurance

Like you, I was trying to cover 2 x mountain bikes and a diamond ring plus all the usual contents stuff. Lots of companies wouldn't touch it because of the value of the bikes, and in the end M&S worked out to be the best BUT it is still expensive. I'm paying £45 a month for contents plus specific cover for those extra items (bikes and jewellery) which are also covered away from home. Cover for JUST the bikes with a bike specific company was about the same amount :shock:

dry664

Does M&S give you new for old?

EH_Rob

This guys does:

miss notax

dry664 wrote:

Does M&S give you new for old?

Yep

dry664

Quotes for M&S coming in at £290 plus £200 excess. Seems a tad expensive to me.

miss notax

Yup, not saying that they are the cheapest but they were the best of a bad bunch for me

I have also claimed with them years ago and the whole experience was pretty painless, hence I am happy(ish - cheaper would be good!) to stick with them.

Good luck

dry664

Right. Insurance sorted, paid an extra £30 to go with the next cheapest insurer after The AA. Reason: dont want those bufoons to have my business.

oodboo

dry664 wrote:

Quotes for M&S coming in at £290 plus £200 excess. Seems a tad expensive to me.

Says the person with a bike and diamond ring worth over £5000 :?

alfablue

My M&S building and contents insurance includes any number of bikes, valued up to £4000 each, and they don't need to be specified. It covers the bikes worldwide and includes accident and theft. No stipulations about locks or storage, other than the requirement to take reasonable care, as per the entire policy. I pay £34 pm for the whole policy. Amazing value IMHO. Also got £30 via Quidco when I signed up.

I have 9 bikes in the shed. Insuring my bikes with a specialist insurer would cost around £500 pa for bikes alone, and the cover would be poorer.

dry664

oodboo wrote:

dry664 wrote:

Quotes for M&S coming in at £290 plus £200 excess. Seems a tad expensive to me.

Says the person with a bike and diamond ring worth over £5000 :?

I meant compared to the other 20 quotes that were cheaper with £100 excess :oops:

njee20

My M&S building and contents insurance includes any number of bikes, valued up to £4000 each, and they don't need to be specified. It covers the bikes worldwide and includes accident and theft. No stipulations about locks or storage, other than the requirement to take reasonable care, as per the entire policy. I pay £34 pm for the whole policy. Amazing value IMHO. Also got £30 via Quidco when I signed up.

They don't do that any more though, so don't let that policy lapse. All new policies have a £1500 limit on bikes, and (like most insurers) the premium skyrockets when you add expensive bikes.

Luckily mine was up for renewal last month and came through very slightly cheaper than last year - £120 for the year for contents only including all the bikes. Happy days.

alfablue

Wow, didn't know that, is the £1500 limit still for any number of bikes, or is that £1500 total for all bikes?

njee20

£1500 per bike.

alfablue

Still very good, I couldn't even get a specialist insurer to cover more than 7 bikes at any price.

Levi_501

With the cost of premiums and the high excess on bikes, why do you not self insure?

Assume three years of premiums, plus the excess and hassle of not getting what you had, self insure is the best answer.

njee20

Depends on your bikes... Safe assumption that if your house/shed/garage gets broken into they'll nick the lot. That's about £12000 in my case. So that's 100 years of premiums, let alone the benefit of having everything else covered.

chazkayak

Contents insurance...£175/yr???? Im paying £50 a month and im in Germany where nothing ever gets nicked!!!!

njee20

Sucks to be you! I've got a £500 claim for a stolen iPhone, and its still £120 a year including cover away from the home and accidental damage, every individual item covered to £4k.

I actually work for an insurance company, and our staff discount doesn't come close!

frazered

barclays appear pretty reasonable and offer new for old