| Buildings Insurance went up again last year, | | | | insurance industry where it hurts - their |
| costing homeowners another 1% a year, taking | | | | pocket. |
| the average to just over £205 for a year's | | | | |
| insurance. Contents insurance also went up, | | | | - Burglars pick posh neighbourhoods to ensure |
| this time by 2% - now it costs the average | | | | they get away with the best items - with |
| homeowner £151 a year. However, some | | | | expensive items like jewellery for the |
| lenders are hiking prices even higher than | | | | taking, the value of these kind of claims is |
| that - Norwich Union for example, raised its | | | | increasing. |
| prices by a whopping 6% last year. | | | | |
| | | | Insurance companies use statistics relating |
| The question is - why? There's so much | | | | to a postcode area to calculate premiums for |
| competition out there, you'd expect prices to | | | | everyone in that area. If your neighbours |
| be falling, not increasing - but there are | | | | have suffered subsidence, or your area is |
| other forces at work, as we go on to discuss. | | | | near a river which has been known to flood - |
| | | | you will have to pay higher premiums. |
| No 1 - the cost of having a house repaired or | | | | Similarly, if people in your area have been |
| rebuilt | | | | broken into, then it will be assumed that you |
| | | | are at a higher risk of making a burglary |
| Labour and building materials are getting | | | | claim too. |
| more costly, so when the insurance company | | | | |
| calculates how much it would cost to rebuild | | | | Having a no-claims discount is a help when it |
| your house, prices are higher. This is due to | | | | comes to offsetting the annual rise in |
| inflation, and the same thing affects the | | | | premiums, but insurance companies cap these |
| insurance company and its own operating | | | | discounts once you have 5 years no claims, so |
| costs. Wages, bills, office rental - all | | | | you will not get any further discounts. |
| these costs are increasing year on year - so | | | | |
| of course insurers have to factor these in. | | | | So is there any way to avoid the rising cost |
| | | | of home and contents insurance? |
| No 2 - the weather | | | | |
| | | | The first thing you can do is look around for |
| The British weather is getting more and more | | | | the best deal. Try the Internet for the best |
| tempestuous, whether it's due to global | | | | deals, because most insurance companies offer |
| warming we are not qualified to say, but it's | | | | a discount, often 10%, for customers that buy |
| a fact that we have been experiencing a lot | | | | online. You will also save if you pay by |
| of extreme weather in the past few years. The | | | | direct debit. It's tempting to accept your |
| 1987 hurricane was a freak occurrence, but | | | | current insurer's renewal quote but don't be |
| flash floods such as the incident in | | | | fooled - the small amount of effort it will |
| Boscastle, Cornwall, Helmsley in North | | | | take to shop around will pay good dividends. |
| Yorkshire, and Carlisle are making the | | | | One of the reasons for this is because |
| headlines on a regular basis. The Association | | | | insurers always offer their best deals to new |
| of British Insurers has stated that the | | | | customers, existing customers are virtually |
| average insurance claim due to flood damage | | | | penalised for showing loyalty! |
| could be anything from £15,000 to | | | | |
| £30,000, making huge dents into the | | | | Improving your home security is another good |
| insurance industry's profits. In fact, floods | | | | way to reduce premiums - while giving you |
| cost insurance companies millions every year. | | | | essential peace of mind. Neighbourhood watch |
| | | | schemes, external security lighting, a |
| No 3 - Burglary | | | | burglar alarm, security locks on windows, and |
| | | | industry-recognised locks on external doors |
| Claims due to burglary have been going up, | | | | will make a difference. Obviously these |
| now average at around £1,400. The 2 main | | | | things cost money to install, but they pay |
| causes are: | | | | for themselves in the long run. |
| | | | |
| - From digital cameras to laptops, game | | | | Play the insurance company game and you will |
| consoles to ipods - our houses are full of | | | | always win - shop around, be prepared to move |
| electronic gadgets with a high value bought | | | | insurance company every year, and don't |
| new, and a high value resold. Burglars are | | | | accept any high prices. There's always a |
| after these items and it's hitting the | | | | better deal out there! |