You see these annoying adverts for price comparison sites where they say something like: "I went to Confused.com and I've just saved £270 on my car insurance!" Well I used to think that this must be a load of old tosh. That is until quite recently. It's fairly well known that you can save hundreds by switching your energy supplier. It's always a bit of a hassle doing this though so I usually just try and bluff my present supplier into giving me it cheaper which in fact they nearly always do. Over the weekend I opened the letter containing our renewal for our home insurance. We've been with Direct Line for many years and I doubt whether I've bothered checking this for at least four or five years and, needless to say, I was shocked to see that the premium had crept up to over £660 for home and contents. I could have just let the policy "auto renew" as they try to encourage you to do by the way the letter's worded and small wonder they do this judging by how much they stand to make by letting it roll on. So this time I decided to check online on that famous Alexander Meerkat site and within minutes I'd ascertained that I could save alot of cash. In fact the cheapest quote seemed to be around £140! I couldn't believe that there could be such a difference. The quotes did range up to about £400 for similar cover to Direct Line's. So, after a bit of tweaking here and adjustments there, I managed to get the best quote out of my present insurer of £357. A saving of over £300 on their original renewal quote for a ten minute phone call. The Meerkat didn't make any money out of me but he did help save me a packet so I thank him and I will be back.
Perhaps I'm being idealistic but it does annoy the hell out of me that you get nothing if you don't ask for it from companies who should know better and that, worst of all, you get nothing for loyalty any more. In fact, effectively, you get penalized for it. It could be too strong to say that they're ripping you off but one thing's for sure, something stinks to High Heaven about this! So my advice to anyone who's listening is spend the time reviewing your insurance and utility contracts because it really does save you a packet....
2 comments:
I negotiated a much better deal on our Home Insurance, by getting an online quote from our exisiting provider, and then phoning them up and queerying as to why it was so much cheaper than what we were currently paying.
Their spokesperson couldn't really answer my question, but suggested cancelling the existing policy, shortly before renewal, and then taking out a new one based on the quote I'd received. I did this, and not only saved £100 or more, but got much better and more comprehensice cover as well.
As you say, what price loyalty?
Yes. I have only seen the light about switching companies in the last couple of years or so. Like you and Paul I have saved a fortune. It is a hassle, but if spending a little time on the net and phone each year gives you between £50 and £100(or more) each time for an hours work, it's worth it.
Not all older people are silver surfing savvy shoppers on the net. We need a volunteer network of local people who could pop in at renewal times and help a neighboour save that money.
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