Email them, you’ll want it in writing if it’s not mentioned on your policy document.
My hifi is listed as a single item covering replacement value for everything. (New for existing Nova, Nd555 and PMCs, second hand for the olives and the turntable/13 year old B&Ws.) As they have not stated any cap per item in any of the 6 documents they sent they have no contract with me for an item cap.
In my own experience (ignoring premiums) best insurers in terms of payout history and lack of sh*t to deal with when making claims, NFU stands out. LV, Aviva and believe it or not Tesco stand up too.
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We been with Allianz(Lloyds) for a while insuring home and business premises since the Pearl days and they have always been accommodating even after a couple of claims. Our premium has been the same( we did shop around)in the last three years. All it takes is a phone call and some negotiations.
250k contents?
Ouch, could you kindly link to that?
Yes, sorry I should have made that clearer.
Regardless of your described less susceptibility of hifi to theft, a water leak can cause the hifi to be completely written off - and it is high on the list of things that concern insurance companies. (I know the first from someone who experienced every electrical & electronic item in the affected rooms being written off, and the latter because of questions and conditions encountered in my own recent search around at annual insurance renewal just over a month ago.)
My insurance went up hugely several years running in the recent past - when I was with M&S - doubling over about 3 years. I changed to Aviva, and was surprised to find a slight reduction. Insurance is unlimited for contents at home, and they don’t need to know detail of hifi etc - BUT (and I guess it applies to all, but perhaps even more so with this type), any claim of course would need good proof of ownership especially if stolen or damaged beyond recognition.
Having just bought an expensive e-bike, and my wife having got an e-bike during the year, I was thinking about specialist insurance - and the cost was huge (about £500 to cover both bikes!). As that coincided with house insurance renewal I looked into its cover, and by increasing the cover for goods out of the home I was able to cover the bikes for an increase in premium of about £100 - a bargain compared to the specialist quotes. I also checked and the legal cover would cover me for claims against me if I caused damage or injury with the bike.
I found Hiscox to be reasonably competitive and with fewer limits. So I insured both house and contents with no limits for a bit over £1000 a year. I didn’t have art works or sets of valuables where item limits did apply. Hifi isn’t included in those categories.
One of the things they encouraged you to take up was a free Leakbot which basically warns you by text and email if it detects water usage above the norm. It’s incredibly sensitive and can pick up both very slow leaks (that can cause structural damage) as well as major leaks that mostly damage contents and decoration. They say water damage is the largest cause of large claims they have. I can confirm it’s incredibly sensitive. It took me a couple of weeks to sort out all the tiny leaks from the garden watering system.
I haven’t had to claim anything yet so can’t comment on how smooth that is.
If it is new for old policy a valuation should be unnecessary, just proof of what it is and ownership. A few years ago I wrote to PMC asking what they would regard as the current model equivalent of my EB1i speakers, and they said the IB2SE, so I’ve kept that as evidence, to try to prevent under-valuing in event of a claim simply because no longer in production. (When last sold about 2011 the EB1 was just short of £8 a pair. The IB2SE is £20k.)
I had a quote from Hiscox two years ago, and was shocked to find it over £1500, whereas Aviva quoted just over £400, for essentially the same cover - a factor of 3.8 difference! I didn’t bother trying them last year or this. (To put in context, M&S had been reached £900 when we changed from tgem 2 or 3 years ago.)
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Good point, and if all your receipts were paper, then in the event of a fire, all that info would be lost. One option might be to keep photos of your receipts of high value items on a Cloud drive, so that the info is always available, even if your computer is broken.
Also to your previous point on water damage, as well as the usual burst pipes, there is now the increase of storms and flood damage over the past few years.
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It’s at this point that I make the point I always make on insurance threads: pay the £25 to get legal cover. When I was knocked off my bike I used the legal cover to claim off the driver’s insurance. Without the legal cover I would have been stuffed.
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@roger Great Lakes is actually a subsidiary of Munich Re but your story highlights that insurers have little idea about risk. I’m afraid the only answer is to shop around and to be clear about the things that matter most to you. I’d try to speak to a broker as they can do some shopping around for you, but also, if you don’t get the answer you feel is fair, ask multiple brokers. It’s tedious but very worthwhile. Once you have told the broker the truth and the whole truth it’s their job to relay the material facts to the insurer and ensure that your claims get paid. For my own place, the prices I got varied hugely, watches and jewellery were the real areas of concern, then artworks. I told them I owned hifi that was well into 5 figures and worth more than their ‘high risk’ items but they didn’t bat an eyelid. Going through the broker reduced the price by 50% from the highest price I got.
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There are new rules coming into force that should reduce the discrepancies between the prices offered to new customers and renewing ones, the ‘so called’ loyalty penalty which seems to have hit you here perhaps? After FCA action those kinds of increases may reduce in future, but let’s see. I usually advise anyone to shop around, every year, the differences in pricing are huge between different insurers and the ones that are competitive or expensive changes quite regularly.
With new for old policies the thing to watch out for is that your overall sum insured covers the cost of new replacements. The average clause in many policies restricts claims to the same percentage of a loss as the total sum insured represents vs the total of all your insured items as new.
For example, if you lost an ND555 at £25k the loss adjuster may visit and estimate that the total new for old of everything in your house is say £150k, but if you’re only insured for £100k total than your ND555 claim might get reduced to £16,667 less any excess. That’s a shock to many.
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As I recall it was because I had no receipt for the turntable and arm, only having one for a recent service, updating and new cartridge. This seemed reasonable to me.
After the new FCA rules were brought in on Jan 1 my renewal premium with the same insurer went up 49% because, I was told, they could no longer offer a loyalty discount.
Sounds a bit like unforeseen circumstances by the FCA or are we being conned again with another mis-selling scheme.
Still I am sure my motor policies will show a huge saving … (sarcasm)
CK
It sounds as if your insurer is being penalised by the new rules.
Having worked in insurance for many years, the role of many regulators is somewhat akin to the Pope re-writing The Joy Of Sex -well meaning but of little relevance to the real world.
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Both my wife’s and my car insurance renewal quotes have come unexpectedly lower than last year. My guess was that the removal of new policy incentives has shared the saving across all.