Renewing your house insurance is essential. Without it, the costs of repairs can run into millions. It’s comforting to know that if somehow you forget to renew your policy; your house insurance will renew automatically. That’s right - you don’t have to do anything, and your home and its possessions will remain insured!
However, the catch is you could end up paying a lot more for the same level of cover by not shopping around. Whatever method you use; comparison sites, direct quotes or you’re married to an insurance broker, the truth is, while it’s not always the case, you will most likely end up paying over the odds.
Here are a few tips when renewing your home insurance:
It’s not always too late to change your mind
If your insurance automatically renews and you know it has cost you more money, remember the cooling-off period of at least 14 days. Sometimes longer, depending on terms, this will give you time before you must pay an expensive cancellation fee.
Shop around
A month before your policy expires shop around. Make good use of comparison websites, you are more than likely to find a better deal.
Haggle
If or when you find a better deal and your policy has not yet expired, ask your current insurance broker if they can match or at least improve on price. You might just be surprised at the answer! This is a proven method of driving down your insurance costs but beware you might not get the desired reduction in price.
Check the details
Always discuss and check the finer details of your policy. For example, your contents insurance policy may not always include bicycles stored in your shed, even if you have a contents insurance policy for your shed, as part of your home insurance policy. Don’t be afraid to ask lots of question of the broker to find out exactly what natural occurring events are insured. Flooding for example may not be covered.
Remember your excess
Check your voluntary excess thoroughly, different items and contents have different levels of excess. Equally, if there are items, for whatever reason, which are less likely to get stolen, damaged or do not hold much value to you, reduce the cost of your policy by paying a higher excess on these items.
Tailor your policy to suit your requirements
Almost anything can be insured so don’t be afraid to get a quote, if it exists chances are you can insure it.
Pay monthly
If you want to spread the cost of your insurance, pay monthly, but you will pay interest. A 0% credit card can give you a little more time to pay without paying what can be a substantially high interest rate.
Pay upfront
It might mean more money leaving your account on the day, but you will not pay interest on spreading the cost and if you find the right deal, you may find there is no need to finance the payments.
Consider multi-cover insurance
Bundling your house and car insurance can be cheaper than using two different brokers. However, it’s not guaranteed. It’s worth noting that if you do take this route just because you make a claim for your vehicle it does not mean an automatic hike in the price of your house insurance.
There are lots of options so set aside some time to examine them thoroughly, it could save you a lot of money.