House Insurance Rip Off

[The_Burg]

Last year we changed our home cover to a new provider, probably not allowed to say who on here but i believe they have red telephones.

Renewal, £563.92. New quote online using all the same details but without the 10% renewal discount....£259.70!!!


And i though car insurance renewals were snidey.

Called them up and they can do me a special discount down to £343, hmmm let me think.....

The asked if there was a reason i was not renewing. Only good thing it was a UK call centre!

Anyone beat that? Well over 100% dearer for continued business.

[james_tigerwoods]

Our monthly premium (for B&C), just because we've not shopped around, is about £40 - a proper quote with someone else has brought it to £26 for B&C and accidental cover.

I've no idea why we haven't done this sooner...

[insurance_jon]

it's called dual pricing and it is the bain of our industry. The problem is that the new business underwriters are under pressue to pick up more clients, and in the current competative markets, the only way they can do this in significant numbers is by discounting the premiums.

The renewal underwriters ar under pressure to increase margin, so they load the premiums.

I know it's not fair, but thought I might shed a little light on why it's happening

[The_Burg]

insurance_jon said:

it's called dual pricing and it is the bain of our industry. The problem is that the new business underwriters are under pressue to pick up more clients, and in the current competative markets, the only way they can do this in significant numbers is by discounting the premiums.

The renewal underwriters ar under pressure to increase margin, so they load the premiums.

I know it's not fair, but thought I might shed a little light on why it's happening

Same with mobile phone contract, you have to change every time to keep a decent deal.

Over 100% increase is plain wrong though. I'm savvy enough to dispute it but many particularly older non internet generation would just pay assuming it was Ok.

[rsv gone!]

The silly thing is, anyone with any sense will just change insurers every year.

[michaeljclark]

I've got the house and car insured with those whose adverts have the red telephone and mouse.

Same thing happens each year and the premiums have gone up come renewal time.

So I requote on line and it comes will all the discounts which I then purchase.

Then I have to phone them to get the rear tinted windows on the car declared on the policy - they try it on with the extra payment becuase of a policy modification (£25 odd) until I point out that the policy is not yet in force and their system doesn't allow me to specify which windows are tinted (which is required UNDER the policy). So I don't pay the policy modification charge and interestingly one year they had to do a refund because the cost went DOWN (it was a fiver, but a fiver is a fiver )

Same thing with the house insurance because of SWMBO's Engagement ring. They try to load it with a policy modification charge on top of the additional premium but once again as the policy is not in force and their system limits what I can put in, I don't pay the modification charge.

I've been isured with them for 8 years and do the same thing every year one year they did try to get funny about it and I simply replied that it was fine, I'd get SWMBO to take the policy out she'd be a "new" customer thus would get all the discounts and then next year I'd take the policy our and be the "new" customer - they relented.

Mike

[V8mate]

rsv gone! said:

The silly thing is, anyone with any sense will just change insurers every year.

We switched our home insurance to Tesco a couple of years ago. c£220. Year later, renewal was £560. And their contracts inculde a self-renewing clause.

So when the letter turns up, it proudly announces that 'you don't need to do anything'.

I called them up and they said it was because I no longer qualified for the 'new customer' discount. They soon dropped it to about £10 more than the previous year.

But they only need one busy person to forget to call them back, and a couple who do nothing on the nod of 'not needing to do anything' and they have probably snared a highly profitable customer for at least a few years to come.

[Simpo Two]

I think that business stunts which rely on outwitting or confusing customers should be banned.

There is little point in loading sacks onto one side of the truck if they are falling off the other. As ever, 'commission' and 'targets' fuel the frenzy.

[Brother D]

Simpo Two said:

I think that business stunts which rely on outwitting or confusing customers should be banned.

There is little point in loading sacks onto one side of the truck if they are falling off the other. As ever, 'commission' and 'targets' fuel the frenzy.

I always question this type of view.

This is the sames essence as banking with the feckless and lazy who are unable to manage their personal finances, resulting in legislation that means the prudent ones have to then subsidise the former.

I'm sure you'll be happy to have higher premiums personally as a result.

[Simpo Two]

Brother D said:

Simpo Two said:

I think that business stunts which rely on outwitting or confusing customers should be banned.

There is little point in loading sacks onto one side of the truck if they are falling off the other. As ever, 'commission' and 'targets' fuel the frenzy.

I always question this type of view.

This is the sames essence as banking with the feckless and lazy who are unable to manage their personal finances, resulting in legislation that means the prudent ones have to then subsidise the former.

No it isn't.

Brother D said:

I'm sure you'll be happy to have higher premiums personally as a result.

You seem to take me for a fool. I'm happy to go to Confused.com and jump ship every year - but it's a pity I have to keep jumping from one sales incentive wheeze to another.

Would you be impressed if I quoted you for £1,000 photography this year and then tried to charge you £2,000 next year? I wouldn't - because I'm too bloody professional.