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
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
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
