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Author: Colleen
Today I’d like to welcome a very special guest blogger–my husband! He’s been the one in charge of scouring the internet for information on contents insurance to cover what worldly goods we shipped here to London, so I figured I’d hit him up for some advice to pass on to you. And so, my dearly beloved has this to say:
“The comparison websites like comparethemarket.com (not to be confused with comparethemeerkat.com!), gocompare.com, and confused.com are popular (surely some fun video clips to be had), but some insurance companies like Aviva, Churchill or Directline only offer direct websites; they do not participate in the comparison sites. Normally, you need to fill out a form on the sites, so they capture your data. The sites also ask for a bunch of information about your flat…whether you’re on a ground floor or top floor, have an alarm system, if you have an external door or multiple doors, etc. Probably the most obscure questions were about the building grading (apparently a British thing of rating structures) and then the type of roof of the building (e.g., flat, steel, concrete, sloping, straw).
Annoyingly, you receive e-mails and phone calls from insurance salespeople after completing the info on the website. They fade away after a week or so, but nonetheless, they can be super aggravating. Also, the quotes on the sites are not necessarily the price you will get—once you make contact with the insurance companies, they recalculate the whole policy anyway after asking you more detailed questions, and you end up with a completely different rate. For example, for basic contents they may ask for about £150-£200 a year, but once you add a single item of a higher value (like a wedding ring), many may not be interested in covering you, or otherwise ask for closer to £600 a year.”
I can attest that it has shaped up to be a frustrating experience, so it’s something we’re still looking into. It is certainly wise to insure your possessions, however, as you just never know what may happen. If and when we have more success, I’ll be sure to update this post…
And, in the meantime, before you can insure the personal property inside your flat, you need to find the flat! That is where there is no confusion as to who to call–London Relocation Ltd., but of course! 18-25 flats in one day is indeed the most efficient way to compare the market (the property market, that is), and our fee is the equivalent of one month’s rent–that’s it. No hidden charges, no surprises. As Aleksandr the Meerkat would say, “Simples!”
Very informative article as we get the ideas regarding the contents insurance for your home.
[...] your flat, you can acquire your insurance straightaway. Please refer to my earlier post, “London Logistics: Contents Insurance” for a brief discussion of insurers and comparison sites in the [...]