A Guide to Home Insurance & Saving with Online House Insurance Quotes

Home Insurance Case Studies

Mr and Mrs Smith bought their house in 1980. At that time they took out a home insurance policy with their mortgage lender. Since then they have renewed the same policy year after year. They have never reviewed their sum insured figure in all that time and have never compared different house insurance quotes. They have one or two antiques and some expensive jewellery. The Smiths have two children at university and a dependent relative in care.

Mr and Mrs Smith should review their sum insured regularly. It is essential that they have a sufficient level of buildings insurance cover to meet the cost of rebuilding their house. Some policies eliminate the need for doing this rebuilding cost calculation by providing blanket cover up to a very large amount, for example, £1million. Their existing insurer will have performed indexing calculations to raise the sum insured to reflect increases over time in rebuilding costs; nevertheless, it remains the responsibility of Mr and Mrs Smith to ensure they have adequate cover.

By looking for house insurance quotes online the Smiths will find significantly better deals available to them than those offered to them by the same insurers on the telephone. Simply by applying online they could save on their annual premiums. Furthermore if they review their policy each year they can take advantage of the very significant deals offered to new customers and continue to make savings for years to come.

The Smiths should review their contents insurance. Their insurer may have a limit on the value of single items. They may therefore need to list seperately any high risk items such as antiques or jewellery. It may be necessary for them to get valuations for their high value objects. An auctioneer can provide valuations for their antiques and if they have receipts for the jewellery these should be kept in a safe place with copies kept away from the home.

To reduce their premiums Mr and Mrs Smith might consider the following measures. They could join or start a local Neighbourhood Watch Scheme; membership can reduce premiums. They could fit window locks on all windows. Obviously their garage should be kept locked. Front and back door security could be improved with five lever door locks. They might well consider installing a burglar alarm to be kept under a regular maintenance contract. Smoke detectors should be fitted.

As a family the Smiths may be able to reduce their overall insurance costs. Some home insurance policies include as standard contents insurance cover for sons and daughters whilst living away from home at college or university. In addition some policies also provide contents cover for elderly dependent relatives living in care homes.

Jane and John are buying their first property together. They don't know much about house insurance but are aware that they need it now that they will be owning their own home.

Buying a house or flat is quite a stressful process. There are many things to consider. Arranging house insurance is an essential part of the process. John and Jane should remember that it is their responsibility to adequately insure their new home from the time of exchanging contracts, rather than the date of completion of the purchase. This is of the utmost importance and a matter on which they should seek confirmation from their solicitors.

A mortgage lender will insist on buildings insurance as a condition of the mortgage. Not unnaturally they will recommend their own insurance or an insurance product on which they will earn a commission; this may or may not be the cheapest and/or best deal available. Its always best to subject any quote to the rigours of competition. Even if the mortgage lender insists on John and Jane taking out an insurance policy from them, they will find several alternative insurers who will offer to discount any fee that may be imposed for switching to an alternate insurer.

The couple should therefore compare several insurance quotes. The easiest and for many the cheapest and most convenient way of doing this is on the internet. Insurance quotes offered on the internet are in any case generally offered at a discount to those available on the high street or over the telephone.

If the couple require contents as well as buildings insurance they can easily find an additional discount for taking out both at the same time. Jane and John might like to consider whether they need contents insurance that will replace items on a new for old basis. If they are concerned to keep their premium as low as possible they should stick to the basic buildings and contents insurances and avoid any additions to the policy which they may be offered. They should of course review their insurance requirements regularly and certainly whenever their circumstances change.

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