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
Landlords must be vigilant warns online Insurer
Online
landlord buildings and contents insurance comparison site, LandlordNet http://www.Landlord-Insurance.net is warning Landlords to be extra vigilant during the current economic crisis.
Troubled times lead to large increases in theft and tenant arrears, they warn, and landlords may be tempted to under insure in the hardening market, leaving themselves open for claims rebuttals should the worst occur.
Security issues are of particular importance at this time of year as the incidence of theft rises around the christmas holiday period. Ensure that your property is fitted with approved locks to the policy minimum standards.
Equally, landlords may have additional problems with their own tenants due to the recsession and credit crunch biting, including rent arrears and tenants leaving more frequently.
LandlordNet warns "By following a few simple tips Landlords can minimise those risks and safeguard their businesses during these difficult times. The first step is to keep a vigilant control of arrears, to flag up and keep an eye on possible rent defaulters before major non recoverable debts are occurred.
Keep up to date records of all enquiries for let properties, and act quickly if notice is given of a property falling vacant. Tenants have a lot of choice at the moment and one returned call can make all the difference.
Labels: buildings and contents, landlord insurance
