Shocked at 19% increase in house insurance...why?

[filka]

Just got my renewal premium, gone up 19% on last year on a combined buildings and contents policy.

This can't be due to cost inflation in the building trade.

Has there been a much higher level of claims this year due to people spending more time in their homes? But that must also mean less burglary claims too.

Have you checked other insurers too or is it just your current insurer that has the increase?

Its a renewal, they will always put the price up, I'm surprised its as low as 19%!

because they can and a lot of people won't remember to question it or swap. it will drop if you ring them, but better like any other insurance to change yearly.

Mine was 13% found plenty lower on comparison sites so will be ringing to haggle tomorrow through

Ours went up by 50% when we shopped around we got it cheaper than previous years. When we spoke to them I was told one of the underwriters had stopped offering to us so the deal got worse.
Go and see what a comparison site says then either go with a new one or argue the old one down.

Is it your first time of having an insurance renewal?

Ignore it and head straight to the comparison sites, it means nothing

Standard. It's called the "inertia tax", you get it with car insurance as well.

This is what I do every year- go onto a price comparison site, find one cheaper. Ring insurer and say i want to cancel, they'll say "oh but does this new policy include legal cover/reduced excess/accidental damage because our super super product does", i say, "yes", then they put me on hold and come back a few minutes later having magically managed to reduce the renewal cost to within a few quid of the competitors' quote

I'm not having a go at people doing that job, they don't design the company policy. But it's maddening!

Loyalty doesn't pay with insurance.

We switched last year (after using a comparison site recommended on the moneysavingexpert website) and saved hundreds (not tens) hundreds of pounds.

Our existing insurer wasn't remotely bothered we were leaving.

Get some other quotes and go back to them. Say you are
Leaving as it's too much and they will miraculously find a "special deal" and drop the price. I have to do this with my car insurance every year.

Really annoys me that companies do this-no such thing as loyalty. I use an insurance broker for my house insurance and they do all the donkey work for me. Easier than online search engines after which you are always plagued by phone calls!) Works out just as cheap too.

Auto-renewal. Mine went up massively, phoned them up said I was cancelling due to the cost. Then they said they might be able to get a better deal. I said that was still too high, then they managed to do it for £6 more than last year. Just phone them up to say you are going to cancel

Just got my renewal quote from Broker, amazed as 15% less than last year.

Bizzarely, insurance is one of the few industries who punish you for loyally staying with them instead of rewarding you.

Shop around.

I think it depends on your area and company. I’m with legal and general and it’s gone up by around £1 each year so nothing major. I wonder if there’s been a lot of claims in your area or for houses or your type/age? That’s kind of how UNderwriting works, all goes on the risk you present. If you in an area with high claims/burglary etc it’ll shoot up

This drives me up the wall - I’ve even once put in the exact same info on the renewal form into the same company’s website and got a cheaper offer! Rang up and cancelled.

I now every year change utilities/insurance often using cash back sites to get great deals.