Worth going via a broker ?

[Jibbajabba]

My insurance due to renewal and all the compare websites are a pain in the crack .... Just wondering if it's easier / cheaper to go through a broker (I know they want to get paid too but sill) ?

Any suggestions ?

 

[NJSS]

I have been happy with Footman James who have special rates for owners with multiple cars or who are members of various clubs.

NJSS

 

[ToeKnee]

I'm with LV, one of the few companies who are happy to insure mapped cars.

 

[ChrisHGTV]

Im with Admiral multi-car. They cover the mods on the Alfa and my insurance dropped a few hundred quid this year at renewal (From £800 to £500 for the three). Not sure why - policy details etc all the same.

 

[Wearsthefoxhat]

I'm with LV, one of the few companies who are happy to insure mapped cars.

I had to go to Admiral ( multi car and house) with my mapped car as LV’s computer said “no”. Funny ole game, this insurance.

 

[Jibbajabba]

As it turns out Sainsburys is cheaper again than others and it has the actual entry in mod list for wraps - which I am sure comes closer to PPF than 'stickers'.



Underwriter is different now ... When I was with them before it was AXA and they were hopeless ...

Sainsburys is a TINY bit more expensive than Admiral (talking like 50 quid a year) but I prefer it to be CLEAR on the modification type and it leaves me the option to change to a wrap from PPF if I want to.

Although in the summary it just says 'other'



Naturally I have a PDF of the sign up form just in case lol ....

 

[AMGeed]

If you have a branch of A-Plan brokers nearby, give them a try.
They almost beat Tesco for a quote for a mapped E63 for me.

 

[johnsco]

My recent experience of house insurance via a broker is very negative.
My aged aunt (95) has recently been in hospital for 3 months before moving to a nursing care home.
I've been looking after her affairs.
She insured her home using Swinton's ... a broker.
Her home insurance came up for renewal with the requirement that they should be advised if the house was unoccupied for more than 60 days.
As soon as I told Swinton's that Auntie M. was in hospital, they immediately revoked the insurance and refused to renew.
When I asked them if they could place the business with another insurer, it took them about 10 seconds to give me the answer "NO".
So - They've taken her money for about 10 years - never paid out a penny - and - when asked to look for something slightly out of the ordinary, they don't want to know.
Brokers ...... All they want to do for you is to take your money.

 

[baxlin]

Sorry to read post #8 above about Swinton brokers, but I believe it’s normal to have an ‘unoccupied’ clause with house/home insurance policies. So who have you now placed it with?

 

[E55BOF]

I think the problem was not so much the house being unoccupied, as the Swinton broker not willing to make any effort to try to help find another insurer. It's customer service - or the lack thereof.

 

[ALFAitalia]

Top tip!
I do go through a broker.....but when I want to change anything.....like declare a mod or make a change to the policy I bypass the broker and go straight to whoever is actually providing the cover. Someone told me to do this as my broker wants to charge 15 to 25 quid a pop for making changes to the policy.....the actual insurer don't seem t bother....I've even declared mods and it has not affected the premium.....I think that its sometimes that they cant be bothered with hassle of doing the payment over the phone. That never happened with any broker I've used!!
You would think going direct to the insurers would be cheaper as the broker takes his commission.....but It never seem to be like that....so I stick to a broker.

 

[ALFAitalia]

I think the problem was not so much the house being unoccupied, as the Swinton broker not willing to make any effort to try to help find another insurer. It's customer service - or the lack thereof.

When my mother in law went into care they (cant remember company....) would only cover her house (until it was sold) for the most basic fire and flood cover damage to the fabric of the building.....nothing else....not even contents. Not unusual apparently.

 

[A.J.]

I tried to complete the quote from More Than on line (Comparethemarket) and it was pretty much impossible. I then rang More Than in order to pay them. The lady at More Than told me she could not find the £283 quote even though the quote said it was valid until the 9th June.

OK I said lets start afresh and see where we go. After spending a good 1/2 hour answering all of the questions fired at me she then quoted a figure of £706 !!! How come the quote on Comparethemarket was £283 and now you are telling me it is £706 I ask. All she could say was that in accordance with the information I had given her £706 was the best they could do, conversation terminated there and then

I then contacted my previous insurer LVE, quoted my policy number and asked what was the best they could do bearing in mind that the renewal quote was £60 mare than last years premium and I hadn't cost them a single penny in claims against them. Best they could do was £305, just £10 more that last year. OK we will go ahead with that, they already had my card details on file so job done. Less than five minutes on the phone, simples

 

[johnsco]

Sorry to read post #8 above about Swinton brokers, but I believe it’s normal to have an ‘unoccupied’ clause with house/home insurance policies. So who have you now placed it with?

After a bit of shopping around, I placed the business with Nova Insurance.
This was for building and contents
Not cheap .... But none of them were.

 

[neilrr]

So - They've taken her money for about 10 years - never paid out a penny - and - when asked to look for something slightly out of the ordinary, they don't want to know.
Brokers ...... All they want to do for you is to take your money.

You're being unfair to the ins. co. It's like saying my insurance co. were happy to take my money for 10 years when I had my Morris Minor but the minute I bought that Dodge Viper they didn't want to know.

"They've taken her money" on a normal, occupied home, an entirely different & much, much less risky proposition than an unoccupied home. An unoccupied house is an entirely different, much, much higher risk than an occupied house - vandalism, arson, squatters, kids breaking windows, metal thieves & on & on. Most insurers won't touch them & TBH I can see why.

 

[baxlin]

I think the problem was not so much the house being unoccupied, as the Swinton broker not willing to make any effort to try to help find another insurer. It's customer service - or the lack thereof.

Could it just have been that they knew their job and products?