Home Contents Insurance?

[Harri2000]

I can't believe the difference in quotes I am getting for Home Contents Insurance cover. From �93.00 to �325.00

Does anyone have any recommendations on companies offering a decent quote?

Also, I know everyone is different, but what would you say is a average cover amount for a 3 Bedroom, 5 Member family. I have been looking at �15,000 - �20,000. Quite daunting when you think about all the things you have and then trying to put a price on them.

[tali122]

i found morethan both comprehensive in cover and at a good price, likewise norwich union who offered my brother double the cover of his exsisting insurer and at a far cheaper price

[Oneeyedvic]

Hi there,

Have got to say I can't recommend enough spending a lot of time on the phone with the Yellow Pages.

Last year (for combined Contents & Buildings - 5 Bed house with �40k) we had quotes ranging from just over �300 (RAC) through to over �1000 (CIS),

Have used CIS in th epast in a different area and they were good. Also used Budget without a problem.

Word of warning though - find out where the call centre will be if you have any problems. A mate of mine had a flood in his house and was insured with Norwich Union. Not really much fun dealing with an insurance company on the other side of the world when you have a serious problem!

[buildersmate]

I used to spend hours crawling through Yellow Pages too. Now I get the web to do it for me. There are websites run by brokers that compare different company quotes based on the parameters you feed in. This is one such company that I have used - it is based in Ipswich.

www.screentrade.co.uk

If you go to their Home Page you will see the big named companies they use to get price comparisons. Insurance industry is now so heavily regulated by the FSA that there is little chance of a company going bust. Where differences do occur of course is in the efficiency of internal processes run by companies and customers are most likely to experience this when they want to make a claim.

t iein

[Oneeyedvic]

To a certain extent I agree with buildersmate - I used Confused.com for car insurance who search through all the companies for you.

That said, I carried on calling people in the Yellow Pages, came accross one company who told me that they had quoted through confused but then discounted the quote even further.

[Pherstun]

One thing you need to bear in mind when comparing prices is how much they're insuring your contents for. Some companies have a low level, some are unlimited.

At the end of the day it's probably a 'gut feeling' thing as to whether you think you're going to get good service from the company. (ie little 'one-man-band' type companies can be a little insecure, from personal experience!)

[Segilla]

Time was when most companies subscribed to a tariff and all their premiums and policy wordings were identical. Now they are all different.

Broadly speaking you should get what you pay for, but exactly what that is is difficut to find out without comaring the cover provided by umteens of companies.

I insure with the company who provided me with a living for 38 years and as a staff pensioner get special terms, so no need to shop around. You cantherefire take it that my recommenation is impartial. Go to RAC, AA or somebody like that.You should get a good deal although it may not be the cheapest and extensions to the basic cover will vary.

For example what excesses apply and to which perils?What level of cover is provided if the property is left temporarily unoccupied and for how long. Is cover available for property temporarily removed from the home - away for the weekend? What cover is available for personal liability if you cause injury to a visitor to your home? And so on and so on.

Tell the truth about your previous claims history and rely on AA or whoever to help you if you feel you're being unfairly treated in the event of a claim.