What do you want from your Home Insurance policy? Share with Sheilas' Wheels for a chance to win a £300 Love2Shop voucher! NOW CLOSED

[ZaneMumsnet]

We’ve been asked by Sheilas' Wheels to find out what Mumsnetters want from their Home Insurance policy.

They say "we appreciate that Home insurance isn't something you think about every day, however, should you need it you want to know everything is covered."

So, is it better cover levels that you look for? Perhaps it’s more confidence in your provider's service or maybe something to keep your family safe when you take out a policy?

Whatever you’d like from your Home Insurance policy, Sheilas' Wheels would like to hear them.

Everyone who posts on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 Love2Shop voucher.

Thanks,
MNHQ
Standard Insight T&Cs apply

Competitive price
Friendly, efficient and speedy responses
Covering my property from all the main potential problems - fire, flooding, subsidence etc

discounts for remaining with a provider, they're so desperate to get new custom they must lose a load who can get better premiums elsewhere as they are entitled to new customer offers

also UK call centres

Easy to understand policy with adequate cover at a fair price

A very low price

To pay out when the claim is fair. To sort out the estimates and sort out the undertaking of the work.

Adequate cover at a reasonable price

A company that actually pays out for claims!!! There are far too many things in the small print that are not covered. My insurance is completely useless and I have no faith in making a claim, you are forced to have insurance but they don't pay out and you then pay yourself again!

I want to be able to trust the policy with no misleading small print, no big excesses, no tricks and a no claims discounts

What I find is that you spend a lot of time on the phone answering questions you don't always feel confident answering or understand and then a week later receive a massive envelope with a massive letter and you are told to read it very carefully. You start reading and none of it makes sense. I'm not stupid. I have undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Physics for goodness sake, but I struggle to understand insurance policies and spend most of my time wondering if I am actually insured.

I want insurance to be concise and clear. The questions they ask you need to make more sense and when you don't understand the person on the phone be able to expalin in a straightforward manner. I also don't want a 100 page policy put through the post that I am expected to read!

Insurance shouldn't be too expensive and the policy should be worded simply. The most important thing we need with insurance is an accidental damage clause, because of our four-year-old and dobermann, who get into a lot of trouble and have no concept of the words NO and STOP.
Our home insurance is through our local council and the price is very good and the coverage is quite a lot, including accidental damage. The claims have been nice and simple and don't take too long to get payment when something breaks.

Good fast service when dealing with claims.

I've been loyal to M&S for a number of years, as when I needed to claim, there was no quibbles and the claim was dealt with straightaway on the phone and in my bank account within hours.

a discount for staying with the company that is clear on the renewal notice to at least you can feel valued and less likely to shop around for a lower quote, a call centre which has well trained staff who treat you like a human, and clear terms and conditions not multiple paragraphs where companies can hide disclaimers. I've only ever claimed once for a burst pipe, I was only with the company (santander) for a month and claimed £1200 with no problems at all, and the renewal was not hiked up too much.

Being able to speak to someone straight away when a claim needs to be made. I realise there needs to be a certain amount of waiting but am upset if I am kept in a queue for long periods of time.
If there is small print I would like it well advertised so I knew what I was actually paying for and the actual service I was going to get.

I would like friendly customer service who are properly trained up in the products.
New for old on electrical goods (which are matched like for like).
Better prices for no claims

I would like a clear policy without hidden rules in the jargon about window locks etc but most importantly I would like an insurer who is on my side during a claim, one who sends assessor within 24 hours in the case of a major incident.
Also I'd like an insurer who includes an uplift in the value of your contents at Christmas, giving you time to increase your sum insured afterwards if necessary.
I think also it's important to know the rebuild value of your home so you aren't left short in a fire for example - an insurer who included a cost assessment survey would be rated highly by me

I want a clear policy, UK call handling, low excess, low pricing and responsive claim handling

Clear policies without all the big and complicated terminology. Uk call centre. Better discounts for loyal customers.

The things I want from a Home Insurance policy are as follows -

Fair/competitive prices, all inclusive, without the premium increasing dramatically each year. Loyalty rewards should be offered, rather than lucrative incentives to attract new customers.

Call centres should be UK based, standard costs, with none of the telephone mazes that some companies adopt.

Terms and conditions should be revised and any 'jargon' or unintelligible gobblydegook got rid of. T & C should be straightforward, plain and simple, and displayed in larger text.

Policies should be more inclusive, rather than offering multiple add-ons which are more costly. What seems to be a reasonable quote can be much too expensive when extra requirements are added.

Any claims should be dealt with fairly and sympathetically, with minimum hassle. Also rewards offered for customers who have no claims.

Like for like replacement of goods, fast action, no quibbles and clear and precise agreement. You hear of insurance companies doing all they can to wriggle out of paying out! Genuine claims should be dealt with and how about rewarding loyalty instead of rewarding only new customers!

The same prices given to new customers as loyal ones

Fair price and service

Good renewal price.
Free no claims protection discount.
Friendly & helpful call centre advisors.
Rewards for loyalty rather than price hikes.
Free legal cover.

I always wish insurance companies would stick to a solid policy which covers what you need. Instead of peppering it with stuff you don't want.

The best cover! Cover everything!

responsability, because they always try to get away with murder!!!