Home and contents insurance

[Dark Knight]

Hey Forumeers
We are moving house shortly and it is time to review our insurance particulars. We are looking at new for old cover on the contents and a comprehensive policy for the house, that covers most things, however we have a 2yr builders warranty on the house plus a 10 year NHBC warranty as well.
My question is do you go for the ultimate contents package and cover everything in great detail or settle for a limit of say £150,000 with specified items listed
not well up on insurance stuff, so any help would be gratefully recieved

ps it is amazing just what it would cost to replace everything you have in your house, when you think about it

[Silver_Shiney]

It's a tremendous hassle to register everything, and I certainly haven't done it, but if you do, it gives the insurer less chance of refusing a claim.

I hope the move goes smoothly and nothing gets lost or damaged!

[suespud]

Try Sainsburys, I got a great deal because I had 5 years no claims (only ever ever claimed once in 37 years).
You can up your contents cover to what ever you want.
I phoned them up to ask a few questions, customer service is very good.

[david63]

We have been with Direct Line for a few years now and their policies are more general - you do not have to spell it out to them they just insure you for a sum irrespective of whether it is too high or not.

Also they will give you a discount if you, or lady Dark, have car insurance with them and when the renewal comes through just pick up the phone and say it is too much and they will reduce it for you.

[Manoverboard]

Modern policies do not tit about with individual values nor do you need to declare them, update them or list them year on year. They simply set Policy limits and you work within them else you purchase additional cover. House and contents with the same company is always the best option.

We insure with Halifax, Sainsbugs will be keen to accept your business as they are in the throws of setting up their own Bank.

[Dark Knight]

cheers peeps
I was going down the route of new for old cover with a generous upper limit, but looking at it, my first guess was way under what it would cost to replace all our stuff if the worst happened, so I need a re-think

[suespud]

Modern policies do not tit about with individual values nor do you need to declare them, update them or list them year on year. They simply set Policy limits and you work within them else you purchase additional cover. House and contents with the same company is always the best option.

We insure with Halifax, Sainsbugs will be keen to accept your business as they are in the throws of setting up their own Bank.

Moby you are right.
The offer is just for a year, i think, but got double points cos I paid in full and just got a flyer to say any points I earn in the next two years will be doubled up to a maximum of 2.500 points per month (shopping and fuel)
Ohhhhh and a £30 sainsburys gift card !!
Hells Bells they will be owing me money....lol

[Andrea S]

When we moved ( downsized) we looked at a comparison site to see what was on offer. Lloyds TSB came out best but they did ask for details of individual items over £1000.00
With older properties, the type of windows, doors, locks and general security have a bearing on price but on a new build that will be straightforward.

[Boris+]

DK, you'll get there in the end - and it's a lovely feeling. Try and make sure (if you get the chance ) to get photos of any pipework and cabling as soon as possible (including external) - it may well come in handy in the future.

As far as the two year warranty thing is concerned, when you do your final handover inspection get photos/videos of anything and everything (not just stuff which needs attention, but everything).

Hopefully you've only got the one property to sort out - more than one is just hassle beyond.

Have had had the option to have full security alarms?

Best of luck - Em

[Stephen]

All much of a muchness.

We have been with LVC for years. New for old on both buildings and contents. Had one or two claims that have never been a problem.

[Stephen]

DK, you'll get there in the end - and it's a lovely feeling. Try and make sure (if you get the chance ) to get photos of any pipework and cabling as soon as possible (including external) - it may well come in handy in the future.

As far as the two year warranty thing is concerned, when you do your final handover inspection get photos/videos of anything and everything (not just stuff which needs attention, but everything).

Hopefully you've only got the one property to sort out - more than one is just hassle beyond.

Have had had the option to have full security alarms?

Best of luck - Em

DK

I'm don't think the insurers want you to go as far as digging up your pipes and cabling to prove a point

[sumdumbloke]

All much of a muchness.

We have been with LVC for years. New for old on both buildings and contents. Had one or two claims that have never been a problem.

How does 'new for old' on buildings work? Or do others have a stock of old houses they can sneak in under cover of darkness should you break the old one?

[Dark Knight]

Stephen, as I said at the start we have a 2 yr builders warrant and a 10 year NHBC warranty, so I dont think I will be
x -raying the foundations
on balance a good new for old policy with a good amount of cover seems to be favourite

[Stephen]

All much of a muchness.

We have been with LVC for years. New for old on both buildings and contents. Had one or two claims that have never been a problem.

How does 'new for old' on buildings work? Or do others have a stock of old houses they can sneak in under cover of darkness should you break the old one?

I see your screen name is living up to itself


Basically, if I fly into your house and demolish it (good chance) you get a free tent on a plot at Dale farm.

Seems very fair to me.

[Stephen]

Stephen, as I said at the start we have a 2 yr builders warrant and a 10 year NHBC warranty, so I dont think I will be
x -raying the foundations
on balance a good new for old policy with a good amount of cover seems to be favourite

Well check out LVC then.

What do you want me to do, phone up and get a quote for you.

[Boris+]

Hi Stephen,

I recall that there is a wadge of stuff to sign when you do handover on a new build property - and a final inspection day is a jolly good opportunity to get as much 'evidence' as possible just in case something goes wrong. At the end of the day, a bunch of photos on a digital camera costs nothing nowadays, but can prove one heck of a help.

The other thing is if the house is not yet finished, then get busy with the camera and take photos before it is too late - again this can be really helpful if something goes wrong (and the builders then say it's not their fault). If you have the evidence - costs nothing but can help loads.

With one of our current houses we had a problem - thank goodness we had loads of photos. The builders are so full of 'we do a warranty, we'll sort it out' - not always wise to trust these people!

Em

[Delboy]

Have just renewed my household contents/buildings insurance (no excess payment, when claiming on contents) and also my car insurance, fully comprehensive, including windscreen and break down cover, with Saga , for less than £300 per annum.

Our renewal quote from them this year, was less than they charged us last year.

[Kendhni]

Use the price comparison sites and you should get a good deal and possibly a meerkat.
Only name things that are over the threshold and look for a policy with decent unnamed items cover ... Go round the house and work out a total. However most peoples biggest mistake is over valuing stuff ... During probate you usually find out how worthless most stuff is.

Also use the abi site to determine a value for your house ... It is only a proportion of tbe market value. Some policies will automatically give more than enough buildings cover. Also don't go overboard with new-for-old and accidental damage since these can really push tbe premium up.

Finally if you are the sort that has insurance 'just in case' and rarely make claims then play around with the excess since tbere is usually a sweet spot where you get a good discount.

If it starts costing much more than £100-200 then keep looking

[noddy10]

Having bought 2 new houses in the past and had problems with the build side of them I can thoroughly say that NHBC 10yr guarantee is virtually useless.

[Boris+]

Hi Noddy,

I know what you mean. When we went about selecting our main home I made up a wishlist - and we found a property which was 50% completed and it ticked almost every box.

We then visited the site every weekend when nobody was on site, made lists, took photos, nagged, nagged and nagged. We kept behind them all the way, and it's fine.

But, I know what you mean - sometimes also it is a good idea to take what they promise and then discuss the 'promises' to see if they are open honest and genuine promises or simply 'cleverly twisted words'.

DK - don't worry, chances are you'll be just fine.

Em

[Kendhni]

Having bought 2 new houses in the past and had problems with the build side of them I can thoroughly say that NHBC 10yr guarantee is virtually useless.

We managed to get a retaining wall and additional drainage put in under NHBC, but they made us jump through hoops to get it.
However insurance wise it made virtually no difference (if any)

[Stephen]

Hi Stephen,

I recall that there is a wadge of stuff to sign when you do handover on a new build property - and a final inspection day is a jolly good opportunity to get as much 'evidence' as possible just in case something goes wrong. At the end of the day, a bunch of photos on a digital camera costs nothing nowadays, but can prove one heck of a help.

The other thing is if the house is not yet finished, then get busy with the camera and take photos before it is too late - again this can be really helpful if something goes wrong (and the builders then say it's not their fault). If you have the evidence - costs nothing but can help loads.

With one of our current houses we had a problem - thank goodness we had loads of photos. The builders are so full of 'we do a warranty, we'll sort it out' - not always wise to trust these people!

Em

Hi Em

We know exactly what you mean. When we brought our current house from new back in 1994 we found no end of snags. Luckily the builders were still on site so allot of the small stuff was put right there and then. But later on we had no end of problems with doors and flooding in the garden, which were eventually put right. But as far as I'm concerned the NHSBC warranty isn't worth the paper it's written on. They seemed more in favour of the builder than us. I wouldn't have been surprised if the NHBC bod wasn't getting a bung on the side.

You think when you buy a brand new house it's going to be all hunky dorey and perfect. Dream on. Give me an old character property any day.

[Boris+]

We were just incredibly lucky! I have a hard-earned reputation of going out to buy something and going home with something completely different. In the past I have gone out to buy patio slabs and gone home with a new car! On the day in question we went out for coffee and kindness and went home with a new house!

So, we were incredibly lucky insofaras we were able to dictate much of the actual build. The house was only partly built, and at the end of the day what we moved in to was a brand new 'old cottage'. We were able to have a whole load of extra stuff, and we kept behind the builders almost daily by phone and email, and then every weekend with a visit - and the mandatory (for us) photographs taken.

At the end of the day these photos have been great because when we had a small problem we were able to prove that some items had been incorrectly stored prior to installation etc. Our neighbours have a property which looks a bit funky and modern - and they have had no end of problems. Sticking to our guns and insisting on traditional roof profiles etc has meant that we have had one or two little niggles like having to have the dishwasher replaced and a bit of painting done - but no major work really.

We did all the searches for flooding etc and so we are quite content, snug and happy. For our neighbours however it has been a nightmare.

So, at the time I was very untrusting of people and companies, quite insecure; but that lead to all the checking and photographs etc., and it seems (fingers crossed) to have paid off in the end. Our other homes are a mix of a bit older, then older still and extremely old. We knew that there was a lot to be said for older properties, but at the same time there is a lot to be said in favour of modern methods and designs. We hope that in our main home we have got the mix right.

Check, double check and then have a sneaky peak around.


Em

[The Tinker]

I totally agree with Em DK - my daughter has just bought a new property and is now having problems and being fobbed off by the builders. Example - bt came to fit new telephone cables - they were fitted round the wrong way. New window leaked - poor design fault - they are having to have it reinforced! They have mould growing in the corner of the kitchen - apparently this is because it was wet when they built the house - they obviously do not want to do the job properly by dismantling the kitchen so just keep cleaning it and using stabiliser etc to control it - the list goes on and on - such a shame as a lovely house but all the problems and hassle take the enjoyment out of it.

[howard18]

I have learnt from bitter experience to be very aware of bolt on additions.
For the past six years I have added legal protection insurance as a bolt on. About a year ago I entered into a dispute with a conveyancing solicitor and took legal action. After several weeks it transpired that they (DAS) would not cover me for legal expenses as "the insurance was not in place at the time of the event" The event happened some seven years ago. I learnt the hard way. It could have cost me thousands - but I won!
Other legal expenses companies provide a clause which says "provided the insured did not know of the event you will be insured". I now read the small print. Just a thought.

Howard