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16 October 2009 |
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Have you checked what you are paying for insurance recently? My experience is that leaving your insurance whether it´s home contents or buildings with the same company for more than a couple of years is playing into their hands.
Two years ago I purchased a property in Crowland and took out building insurance. Using one of the insurance comparison sites I found that one insurance company offered one of the most competitive quotes at about £135. Twelve months later that rose to about £225. At that time all the talk was about insurance companies raising their premiums due to adverse claims experience so I did not question the rise in premiums.
A few days ago I received this year´s renewal notice. The premium had increased again, this time to £325! But this time, rather than just accept this ridiculous hike, I decided to act.
Returning to the same insurance comparison site I have now obtained, and accepted, a quote for £135 - much the same as what I paid two years ago.
Speaking to others I find my experience is anything but unique. It seems that insurance companies play a particular form of Inertia Selling. Researching the market and finding the cheapest quote takes time. Filling in the insurance form takes more time. So next year when the renewal notice drops through the door, even though the premium has risen, we are disinclined to go through the whole process again; the premium will be deducted automatically from your accounts; you don't have to do anything but pay the bill.
But that is just what the insurance company wants and over a couple of years you can find, as I did, that a competitive premium becomes distinctly uncompetitive! Put another way, if someone was to offer you an hour´s work and it saved you £100 would you accept it? Of course you would. And that is precisely the attitude we need to adopt every year with insurance companies.
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