Never renew your insurance with the same car insurance company!
Like me you are probably sick to death of the so called great offers being punted around every night on our TV screens by multi-national insurance companies, for
car insurance and recently
home insurance....
BRAND NEW CUSTOMERS ONLY
FREE CONTENTS INSURANCE
AND (beat this) YOU WON'T FIND US ON ANY COMPARISON SITES!
So lets look at these claims individually and in particular
Aviva whose marketing department think they are being clever but whose tactics should actually see their book of business decrease!
BRAND NEW CUSTOMERS ONLY
Anybody who sees this despicable tactic (first used by that horrible fat bloke advertising Abbey National or whatever stupid name it is called now) used by their current insurance company should NOT RENEW their existing policy!
Why? Because they don't give two figs about you or your business. They fail to realise that their existing customers are worth a lot more than 'New business' and quite frankly they don't deserve you as a customer! You will end up paying much higher premiums at renewal than the 'new' policies and guess how they can afford these
offers?
Yep! By overcharging their existing customers!At Renewal MOVE!
FREE CONTENTS INSURANCE
Another joke!
Firstly they will overcharge you for your buildings insurance to cover the costs of the so called free cover, and you are only eligible if you pay the over inflated buildings cover as Minimum Premiums apply (in the small print at the bottom of the screen). Thers no such thing as a free lunch or contents insurance for that matter!
YOU WON'T FIND US ON ANY COMPARISON SITES!
Why? because you know as well as we do that your premiums and levels of cover will not stand up to the competition!
And finally while we are on the matter of Insurance Advertising, what the hell do those
people? at AVIVA think they are doing by caricaturing with stereotypic mimicary certain elements of British society or in street parlance - taking the piss out of the Welsh, Plymouth Argyle Supporters and all those other stereotypes that are probably appearing in adverts, regionally up and down the country with those pathetic Bob Mortimer sketches.
Oi! Aviva! Don't you realise the negative passions that are envoked every time an
Exeter City FC or Torquay United fan sees that awful advert featuring yokels from
Plymouth Argyle, will lead them to cancel their policies. Mind you what would you expect from a bunch of carrot crunching Delia Smith Supporters!
For both home insurance and car insurance, shop around and visit a comparison site if you want to save money!
Up the Gunners!
Labels: car insurance, Home Insurance
Recession still to bottom out as UK Insurance Industry Suffers
The pundits in the housing markets often seem to be singing from a different songsheet when it comes to what's really happening in the UK economy. One minute we hear that repossessions have dropped in comparison to the first quarter of 2009, and that house prices are rising, but this is surely industry sales talk.
Fact of the matter is house prices haven't reached anything like the levels needed to stimulate a National recovery and movement in the market. Mortgages are very difficult to come by and often require up to a thirty percent deposit. Those lucky ones on tracker mortgages are praying every month that the Bank of England doesn't put up interest rates, otherwise many of them would bejoining the ranks of the reposessed!
Credit in general is non-existant, particularly in the Car Finance sector, and the credit card companies with their extortionate rates are only interested in recuoperating lending and tightening the national screw further!
Unemployment is rising and you only have to drive a short distance to see hundreds of towns that relied upon local industries that have gone to the wall, with the ranks of unemployed growing on a daily basis!
We as a Nation are in the proverbial big time, the good news is so is everybody else!
Insurance in the UK is suffering big time in many ways too. Households are cutting back on items seen as luxuries and Insurance is often perceived this way. In particular
home insurance and personal finance insurances such as income protection have seen their markets decimated.
As no mortgages are being given away and the recent furore over miselling,
mortgage protection insurance has virtually disappeared as a product to be replaced by a more encompassing lifestyle protection insurance policy.
Car insurance is in trouble too, despite the fact that it is compulsory. Many underwriters have been asking for rate rises for nearly two years but the prices have been artificially kept down by the levels of competition brought in by the Internet insurance comparison sites or aggregators as they are known. Many major players have made substantial losses in the Motor market over the last few years and many have had to cut deeply into their reserves. This cannot go on ad infinitum, and prices must harden. This will inevitably lead to many suppliers leaving the market.
As for the car scrappage scheme - did that generate demand? Yeah for a couple of thousand Hyundais built in India and imported into the UK - Sheer and utter madness!
Commercial Insurance is the one area which has obviously taken a massive reduction in premium volumes as businesses go to the wall and very few new startups enter the market.
One thing we can be sure of it's going to be a long cold winter, a change of UK Government won't make the slightest bit of difference and by the noises coming out on ABC and CBS News recently is going to kick of Stateside long before it does here!
Labels: Barack Obama, car insurance, credit crunch, Home Insurance, housing market, insurance news, misselling, recession, small business insurance, UK government, unemployment
A Quarter of Home Insurance Policies Cancelled As Recession Grips
One in four people have cancelled or not renewed their annual home insurance in order to save money during the recession, according to a recent survey carried out for the association of British insuraers (ABI)
The research carried out by a national survey of over 2,000 adults conducted by YouGov, on behalf of the ABI, also shows that other insurances that are seen as 'luxuries' such as life insurance are also being ditched, as families try to balance outgoings with income, in what is already in most homes a seemingly impossible task.
The survey found the following worrying trends for the UK Insurance market:
Nearly a quarter of people 22% say that to save money in the last year they have cancelled or not renewed their
home contents insurance.
More worringly, 17% say that they have cancelled or not renewed their buildings cover, some probably against the terms of the mortgage that usually insists that buildings cover is in place to protect value of the charge on the property.
In Scotland, the figures rise to 28% for contents and 21% for buildings.
13% have cancelled their life insurance.
One in five (21%) say that they are seriously considering reducing or stopping saving. (Well with Interest rates so low - who can blame them!)
This lack of cover is leaving many families even more exposed to their biggest fear in the recession: nearly half (49%) of those surveyed said that they currently worry about their in ability to cope with a sudden event, such as a burglary, accident or loss of employment.
Interstingly, other research found that :
Over half (53%) of women worry about how they would cope with an unexpected event (compared to 43% of men).
And 44% of women are worried about the adequacy of their pension (38% men), reflecting lower pensions among women.
Asked what cutbacks people have or would be making: over two thirds (68%) said that family treats, such as eating out, were top of their list, followed by holidays (56%). Six out of ten women are prepared to reduce spending on clothes and shoes.
Insurance Blogger urges those thinking about cutting back on home insurance cover to consider what would happen if their house was burgled or flooded?
With rising crime and rising floods a couple of hundred pounds on a home insurance policy might seem small beer if the worst occurs.
Shop around for home insurance on the Internet or visit a
specialist home insurance provider for an array of good deals at the current time.
Similarly if it's not too late think about purchasing some
lifestyle protection insurance if you are worried about your future
Labels: ABI, buildings insurance, contents insurance, credit crunch, Home Insurance, recession, unemployment insurance
Buildings Insurance Claims Crisis - Sewage is the New Subsidence
Buildings Insurance is in the proverbial again with what could potentially turn out to be the biggest claim reason since the subsidence crisis of the 1980's and 90's.
The reason? Sewage - or more precisely the sewer mains pipes that lead from every property in the UK to the main street sewage system.
In the 1950's through to the 1970's a certain type of sewage pipe called a 'Pitch Fibre pipe' was widely used in new and existing construction work as a replacement for clay pipes which were three times as expensive and required specialist installation. Published figures from the time suggest that "if laid correctly, and not subject to adverse ground conditions, pitch fibre pipes can be expected to have a design life of up to 40 years". If poorly installed, it was suggested that the life expectancy of a pitch fibre pipe would be significantly shorter.
All Pitch Fibre Pipes laid for sewerage in the UK have now reached or passed their design life expectancy. Pitch Fibre Pipes were made from wood fibre impregnated with coal tar, and have performed adequately when dealing with normal waste water. It soon became apparent that Pitch Fibre pipes were susceptible to the delamination of their inner surface, ruining the structural integrity of the pipes. Pitch Fibre pipes have been found to react badly when subjected to large quantities of hot water, and to oils and fats, which can soften the tar and cause deformation and leaks. It was also discovered that under normal conditions, they were susceptible to collapse under applied loading, sooner than pipes made of more rigid materials. The use of pressure washing drains has also exacerbated the problem of deterioration.
Pitch Fibre Pipes (incredibly) were British Standard approved (BS2760), although this was withdrawn on 15 June 1987.
Home Insurance claims NemesisThe use of pitch fibre pipes was very widespread through the UK and up to 50,000 properties are now suffering problems relating to pitch fibre pipes every year and making claims on home buildings insurance policies. The number of Pitch fibre claims is rising dramatically each year so much so that, like subsidence, many Home Insurance companies are refusing to cover claims under
buildings insurance for sewer collapse associated with pitch fibre. Many others will claim 'normal wear and tear' and refuse to pay a claim. Howerver following advice from the UK's Insurance Ombudsman’s , some Home Insurance Companies are now paying for these drains to be repaired.
Would you know if you had Pitch Fibre Sewers? Probably not until you have a blockage or leakage.
Insurance Blogger is warning the large number of people who compare home insurance premiums on the Internet and change provider each year, to check very carefully if the new policy covers Pitch Fibre Collapse.
The cost of replacement of pitch fibre piping with modern materials can be anything from £2000 to £10000 or more depending upon the length and complexity of the run and the surface materials.
You may be jointly liable for damage to pitch fibre sewage pipes that are not even on your property if your sewers join to neighbours, so it is oimportant when purchasing
home insurance that pitch fibre is covered, otherwise you may be presented with a large unwarranted bill.
As the pitch fibre pipe systems gradually deteriorate, those responsible for the sewers find themselves frequently paying out for repairs. Check your pipes and home buildings insurance today!
Labels: buildings insurance, Home Insurance, pitch fibre claims
Home Insurance - More Th>n up the anti online
MORE TH>N have changed their onl;ine Home Insurance policy package to relect the TV campaign and offer free contents when you buy buildings insurance. They claim as a result of customer feedback.
Get a quote and More Th>n infoHere's the Deal:-
FREE contents cover when you buy Buildings Insurance. And, if you stay-claim free you’ll get FREE contents cover for the life of your policy.
25% discount if you buy online.
Covers all your possessions while they are in your home and garden (including any garages, sheds or outbuildings at the same address)
Up to £75,000 Contents cover – as standard (take note high net worth market)
‘New for old’ replacement of damaged or stolen goods - many delivered direct to your door
Basic Accidental Damage cover automatically included - for accidental damage to items such as your TV, music & entertainment systems, PCs, DVD player and including items such as ceramic hobs and glass top furniture
Buildings Cover:
Up to £400,000 buildings cover with an option of £750,000 buildings cover - making sure customers don’t pay for cover they don’t need.
This cover provides protection against storm, flood, fire and subsidence for the structure of your home, as well as the full rebuilding cost of your home including architects and surveyor fees
Buildings cover includes fixed kitchen units, bathrooms, plumbing, patios, walls and fences
Major repairs carry a MORE TH>N ‘Repairs Guarantee’ from the approved contractor network.
(Sounds to us like a good proposition aimed towards the 50K+ per year market!)
Home Contents Cover:
This covers your belongings such as;
Free-standing Fridges and Cookers,
Sofas,
Carpets,
Ornaments,
Music & Entertainment systems,
PCs and DVD players,
and more personal items such as Watches and Jewellery
Cover is against theft, fire, water-damage and flood
Option to upgrade cover to include accidental loss or damage in the Home (full AD cover)
Option to upgrade cover to include “contents away from the Home cover” (away)
£1,500 single item limit - items other than carpets, curtains and furniture worth over this limit will need to be declared individually
More Than stress the product is aimed at ensuring customers don’t pay for home insurance cover they don’t need.
Insurance Blogger is fairly impressed with this cover offering, however we are a bit concerned that there is no mention of Legal Expenses which is in our humble opinion one of the most important home insurance covers to the high net worth market. We need to establish whether this cover comes as standard or as an expensive optional extra.
Labels: buildings and contents, contents insurance, Home Insurance
Home Insurance wars continue
With the direct big boys slugging it out on UK National television to give away free contents insurance(with T's and C's), on the back of the
buildings insurance cover, it was not long before the other big direct player Direct Line got involved.
The RBS bank owned (should I rephrase that to read 'and British government'), has jumped into the affray with an offering of 50% off the cost of contents cover.
OK so its not as much as the other two, but has still got be worth a quick quote to check out the premiums and the various difference in
home insurance cover offered. One has to assume that the buildings rates for both More Th>n and Norwich Union are inflated to cover the risk pool created by all that extra contents cover.
Direct Line Home Insurance
Learn more about
Direct Line Home InsuranceWhat makes Direct Line Home Insurance a good deal better? Well according to Direct Line
• Up to 25% discount when you buy online & Up to 50% off of Contents cover
• 12 months cover for the price of 9
• New for old replacement items for the garden, up to £1,000, as well as in your home
• Where possible, we'll arrange the delivery of replacement goods direct to your door
• Automatic increase in cover over Christmas and for weddings - £5,000 or 10% of the contents sum insured, whichever is greater
• Cover for accidental damage to PCs and TVs and home entertainment equipment as standard
• Children's content covered whilst they are away at University up to £5,000 (or 15% of the contents sum insured).
• Unlimited frozen food cover
• Bicycle covered as standard when left indoors, in a shed, garage or outbuilding
• Includes cover for replacement locks
• 24 hour emergency helpline for all customers
Labels: buildings and contents, buildings insurance, contents insurance, Home Insurance
Big Freeze - Check your Buildings and Home Insurance
Online buildings insurance advice centre
building-insurance.net is advising clients, particularly those who may own a second home, are currently working way or are away on holiday, to get a friend or neighbour to check their properties for burst pipes.
Water Damage is the number one claim at this time of the year. after a week of sub zero temperatures, now as the freeze subsides is the time that most damage occurs when the water pressure is allowed to build up. Home Insurance companies across the country are currently inundated with claims related to last weeks big freeze.
You can avoid a lot of extra damage to your buildings and contents if you take a few precautions regarding frozen pipes.
Get the pipe properly lagged
Uninsulated pipes exposed to freezing temperatures can cause water to freeze inside them.This can result in burst pipes once the water thaws so make sure all pipes particularly external ones are lagged.
Make sure tanks and pipes within the loft are in good condition and well lagged.
If going away for work or holidays during the winter months maintain gas and electric central heatings at a low to moderate level.
In the event of a burst pipe, turn off the mains water stopcock.
Its advisable to know the location of this beforehand but itis quite often found underneath the sink, in the bathroom,below the stairs or possibly low down or in a cellar.
If your own water supply is pumped up from a well or ground, switch the sytem off until you have checked the ice level.
Make sure your Home Insurance has provision for both burst pipes and other big freeze contingency covers. Many of the
best home insurance companies have 24 Hour Household Emergency Helplines who will be able to help with all thing plumbing related. Check your policy document to make sure your existing home insurance covers all these risks and if it doesn't we advise you to shop around as there are some great deals to be had in the UK Home Insurance market at the current time, including many offering free or half price
contents coverLabels: buildings and contents, buildings insurance, Home Insurance
Free Contents Insurance - no kidding??
So I sat around on the early part of New Years Eve thinking about 'What on earth to write of interest' about insurance in the UK as we enter 2009.
No I didn't, I'm not that sad! but I couldn't help but notice the massive TV ad campaign being run by Norwich Union offering free contents insurance up to £50000 if you buy your buildings cover through them.
Well that made me sit up and think - What? and Why?
The focus of Home Insurance over the last few years, especially sales on the Internet from many of the major brands have been the opposite, offering unlimited building SI's cover to attract the contents cover.
So OK blanket unspecified covers up to 50k of contents, but surely the buildings rates have got to reflect the difference? I haven't tested the premiums yet but maybe NU are selling it cheaper?
So why are they doing it? Well obviously to target a specific sector and increase their book of home insurance business. Maybe they think people will be cutting back on
contents insurance during a recession as a luxury item not imposed by mortgage or other conditions upon homeowners. Most likely they think that all that bank buildings insurance business is up for grabs!. Perhaps this is the final stage of NU becoming a totally direct insurer before it becomes rebranded as Aviva (soon to be!! - have you seen those stupid ads all over London?). I suppose they're also finding it extremely difficult trying to sell their traditional products in this market and think Home Insurance is a soft touch...hmmmm.
So anyway I thought no more of it and carried on drinking and then at the next commercial break - flying pigs? Nope. Just More Than giving away contents insurance for free and guess what - up to £75ks worth.
Wow Happy New Year! We have
Free Contents Insurance WAR!!!
Happy v Lucky !
At least the More Th>n offering seems to make good business sense. £75k is the bottom end of the high net worth contents and home insurance market and the large buildings will pack a fair premium with plenty of opportunities to cross sell to the HNW clients. Does one size fits all work in the UK home insurance market? Others will probably have jumped on board the free contents insurance band-wagon before I've finished this article, but we remain sceptical until we've checked out the devil in the detail. Let us know your thoughts!
At insurance blog we think if you're a high net worth customer you are more inclined to seek specialist and personalised home insurance cover. That's why we recommend you take a look at
Hiscox Home Insurance before you renew or move from that annoying bank.
Hiscox Home Insurance is comprehensive and specifically designed for people with higher value homes and possessions.
When choosing home insurance a customer can feel certain with Hiscox because:
• No policy available direct has better cover, as standard
• Hiscox is a solid and trusted company, dating back to 1901
Great reasons to choose Hiscox
1. Hiscox home insurance has been awarded 5 stars from independent market researchers, Defaqto, for the third year running
2. Hiscox are one of the few direct insurers offering 'all risks' cover, meaning minimal exclusions, maximum cover
3. Contents covered inside the home and when temporarily away anywhere in the world
4. Buildings cover automatically includes accidental damage
5. No need to list every valuable on your policy worth more than £1,500
6. 24 hour emergency cover (e.g. for blocked drains).
Labels: buildings and contents, buildings insurance, contents insurance, home contents insurance, Home Insurance
Tesco Half Price Home Insurance
On the day that Inflation figures are published showing a slight drop due mainly to the correction of oil prices, retailers are reporting massive drops in sales over the last quarter and the usual pre-Christmas rush to the High Streets just isn't happening. TV channels have been interviewing the public and it seems just like house prices the canny consumer is waiting more than ever this year for Sales.
Some industry commentators are predicting record Christmas sales for online businesses as consumers shop around in the Internet for the best bargains.
At Insurance Blog we're more prone to take a cautious view of events as, for example, these very same consumers will need a credit card in order to purchase online and as credit card debt is everywhere and has yet to be properly addresssed by the lenders, we predict that the Internet Sales will suffer just as much as the High Street, which at the end of the day may well fare better given the last minute Christmas rush that is bound to occur.
Given this background UK Insurance distributor TESCO is offering a massive giveaway of fifty percent on its home insurance Quotes are valid for 90 days and must be made before the 7th January (twelth day of Christmas included).
With exceptional cover at what were already low prices this has got to be one of the Insurance Bargains of the year - so far.
Additional Covers included for FREE
Tesco Home Insurance:
* - Further 5% discount for Tesco Car Insurance customers
* - Clubcard customers get an even better price
* - We'll pay any switching fees up to £25 when you switch from your mortgage lender
* - All our calls are answered in our UK Call centres
* - 24-hour emergency helpline
* - Home Repair network – all repairs are undertaken by vetted builders and all costs are paid directly to them with no fuss or hassle
* - Any work undertaken is guaranteed for 12 months
* - More price options available with Value cover offering basic essential cover and * - Finest cover offering inclusive benefits such as a Concierge service and free ID Fraud assistance
We await the others - watch this space
Labels: credit crunch, Home Insurance, tesco home insurance
Banks reduced to selling HOME INSURANCE - Tesco outguns them
Like many others in the UK I must have sat down and watched the Location Location Location Credit Crunch special wondering how much my house was worth - or not.
But did anyone notice the subliminal message throughout ' program sponsored by...' and all the Bank adverts in the commercial breaks selling - HOME INSURANCE
Well I suppose it had to expected, after all Banks couldn't sell us pensions in the pre crunch market, now they can't offer us
credit, loans, mortgages or plastic since they messed the market up between them and now, uh what's left, oh yeah lets sell them HOME INSURANCE.
You must have seen that pathetic annnoying ad from Nat West with those idiot bankers trying to sell products - Well sorry Nat West the UK public don't differentiate - Bankers are Bankers! Now the same prats are all fighting over home insurance.
Don't buy into it as in most cases you are better off going to the source rather than the super affiliate. Check the small print to see who underwrites the cover - bet it's not the bank!
The only exception to the rule is the best buy home insurance cover - which does vary by campaign and this month is without doubt Tesco.
So if you're looking for standard home insurance savings at the current time, look no further than TESCO HOME INSURANCE who have today slashed their rates by a massive 50% and offfer further online discounts. The cover underwritten by UK Insurance is in our opinion far wider and better than the bank offerings with features such as unlimited buildings sums insureds.
Today Tesco Personal Finance launch their latest offer on Home Insurance – Get 50% off your premium when you get a quote for Tesco Standard or Finest Home Insurance by 7th January 2009 and then buy that policy.
Offer applies to new customers in their first year only when you get a quote for Tesco Standard or Finest Home Insurance by 7th Jan 2009 and then buy that policy. Quotes are valid for 90 days. This offer Excludes Value and Buy to let Insurance.
Additional benefits of
Tesco Home Insurance:
Further 5% discount for Tesco Car Insurance customers
Clubcard customers get an even better price
We'll pay any switching fees up to £25 when you switch from your mortgage lender
All our calls are answered in our UK Call centres
24-hour emergency helpline
Home Repair network – all repairs are undertaken by vetted builders and all costs are paid directly to them with no fuss or hassle
Any work undertaken is guaranteed for 12 months
More price options available with Value cover offering basic essential cover and Finest cover offering inclusive benefits such as a Concierge service and free ID Fraud assistance
Labels: Banks, Home Insurance, tesco home insurance
