Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

Is £440 a good quote for buildings & contents insurance??

35 replies

hellohellohihi · 19/04/2013 06:08

Never had either before!!

We're buying a house for £340k, 4 bed semi. Contents at £35k then engagement ring £7k, no bikes, excess £250. They've suggested rebuild cost of £287k...

This is from one of the comparison websites...

Is this good?

OP posts:
ihatethecold · 19/04/2013 06:12

I think that is ok.
Ours is a bit higher than yours with nationwide.
They have been great when we had a claim a few years ago.
Sometimes it's good to pay slightly more to get good service when you really need it. Smile

MarjorieAntrobus · 19/04/2013 06:14

Sounds OK.

I'm Shock (& maybe Envy ?) at engagement ring though! Grin

Original poster
hellohellohihi · 19/04/2013 06:24

Morning! I wasn't expecting any replies for a while yet, thank you!

ihate, what counts a better service in this kind of thing? I bank with nationwide actually, didn't think to check with them..

marjorie my ring has been made using the diamond from my greatgrandmother's engagement ring... DH got off lightly didn't pay anywhere near that for it!!

OP posts:
Glittertwins · 19/04/2013 06:32

That's quite a lot for only £35k of contents cover and only 1 specified item.
Does this include cover for the ring away from home e.g if lost when you are out or stolen and accidental damage?
We pay approx £360 more contents cover, accidental damage, with similar value specified items (admittedly not the same kind of item) and a bike as well as for several thousand pounds worth of cover away from the home. It's the well known one that isn't on price comparison sites.

MarjorieAntrobus · 19/04/2013 06:33

Ha! Different time zone here. Always someone awake on MN.

No no, I wasn't expecting you to justify your ring. Sorry.

Have a bit of a google to find out how good your prospective insurer is in event of claims. Sometimes worth going with higher quote.

MarjorieAntrobus · 19/04/2013 06:35

OP's got buildings cover in with that quote too.

MarjorieAntrobus · 19/04/2013 06:36

^was addressed to Glitter

Glittertwins · 19/04/2013 06:36

Also look for extra perks that you might want. We get travel insurance thrown in with ours which means we don't need to buy additional cover for holiday.

Glittertwins · 19/04/2013 06:37

Ours is buildings and contents :-)

FlatCapAndAWhippet · 19/04/2013 06:51

I have a higher value on my contents cover but pay slightly more than that. I have absolutely everything covered, loss outside house, all types of damage etc and am with Nationwide. I had an absolutely huge claim five years ago and cannot recommend them highly enough. It took their building company six months working at my home, I had constant contact with them, all work was done to the highest standard and small things that I had overlooked, additional things that my insurance covered, were brought to my attention so that every last part of a devastating situation was rectified. It cost a lot of money and never once did I have a stumble or problem with Nationwide. I was insured to the hilt, thank goodness.

nocake · 19/04/2013 07:37

The price depends on lots of factors such as where the house is, what it's made of and if you have alarms fitted. £440 seems quite high but the cover for a £7k ring will be a fairly big chunk of that.

My advice would be to pick an insurance company with a good reputation, even if it costs a bit more. You'll then be better looked after if you have to claim. You really don't want a crap company if you're claiming as it makes a stressful experience even worse.

Original poster
hellohellohihi · 19/04/2013 13:22

Oh crikey - Nationwide is £726 for the basic cover and £1143 for the super cover...... Their minimum contents value is £62k, which I think is too high for us...

OP posts:
Glittertwins · 19/04/2013 13:26

That is a lot or money. Have you tried L&V or Direct Line?

Original poster
hellohellohihi · 19/04/2013 13:30

Direct Line came in much higher than my £440.

Does having it in joint names (ie me and DH) affect the premium? Would it be better just in my name?

OP posts:
Original poster
hellohellohihi · 19/04/2013 13:31

Perhaps it's worth insuring my ring separately??

OP posts:
ChasingSquirrels · 19/04/2013 13:34

comparethemarket.com
moneysupermarket.com
direct line

If you feed your details into all three you will get a good idea of the price range you are looking at - and can then make your decision about who you want to be with.

[seems ALOT to me, I paid £186 for higher contents (inc £5k watch), 4-bed detached etc, but lots of other factors will affect it]

specialsubject · 19/04/2013 13:35

depends where you are. In the London/Home Counties area, yes. In rural midlands, no.

don't forget to check small print re locks on doors/windows, and also that you need to insure the house from exchange.

ilovepowerhoop · 19/04/2013 13:36

we are with AXA and paid £298.91 for combined buildings/contents with rebuild cost up to £500,000 and contents up to £65,000. We were with them last year too as they gave a very competitive quote

ilovepowerhoop · 19/04/2013 13:37

p.s. I chose no extra excesses and have a compulsory £100 excess for both buildings and contents

ilovepowerhoop · 19/04/2013 13:38

p.p.s. mine is in joint names too

ohforfoxsake · 19/04/2013 13:39

Have you tried Esure?

My renewal was £200 more than their new quote!

Use a comparison site - Gocompare etc (click through Quidco and get £1.75 cashback).

Do quotes with and without your ring.

Alarm systems, area, etc all affect your premium.

ShowMeTheYoni · 19/04/2013 13:39

I think ours was less than £200. House is only worth 72k though and our contents insured up to 25k I think...I would need to check, but your quote seems high, but proportionate to your house value

Mandy21 · 19/04/2013 13:40

I think that sounds massively high, we're in a 3 bed semi but a similar value and re-build cost to your property. Contents insured for £50k, individual items upto £1000, engagement ring listed as separate item but nowhere near £7k though. Don't have alarm. I did a comparison on one of the comparison sites and went with Swinton insurance for £140 I think. Also checked their reputation and its very good.

BackforGood · 19/04/2013 13:45

I think that's reasonable - as others have said, it depends so much on location, it's difficult really for anyone else to compare, but when I've tried to shop around to get a better deal for us, the alternatives usually come is a LOT higher than that. Our best deal was through my union - don't know if that's worth investigating for you ?

Original poster
hellohellohihi · 19/04/2013 13:53

We're home counties.

Taking my ring off seems to knock off about £50...

Got £430 with Bradford & Bingley...

I wonder if the fact this is our first ever policy makes a difference (ie no claims free years previously).

Need to sort ASAP as trying to exchange on house today and need insurance in place before we can!!

OP posts:
Swipe left for the next trending thread