Change for the better
WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR FINANCES, LOYALTY DOESN’T ALWAYS PAY,
YOU might think it’s not worth the effort to switch your energy bills, insurances or mortgage. But if we told you that by being loyal and sticking with the same old financial firms it would cost you £118,425 across a working lifetime you might want to think again.
Firms offer the best deals to new customers so you have to beat them at their game by switching whenever you find a better offer.
The study, in association with the Royal Bank of Scotland, compared a regular switcher against someone who doesn’t move products or services at all.
It looked across a range of common household bills from mortgages to energy bills, car and home insurance, broadband and mobile phones.
While car insurance is the bill that is the most switched, followed by home insurance and energy bills, switching mortgage will contribute the largest overall saving with the average household paying a hefty £84,400 more for their home loan if they never move to a better deal once their introductory offer expires – from the age of 32 until their 68th birthday.
Ringing the changes by moving mobile phone deals could save £13,392 in a lifetime, switching to better energy deals will save £12,686 and driving off with cheaper car insurance will put an extra £2,697 into your pocket. Yet, despite big savings, a fifth of people never switch financial products and that includes two million homeowners who are paying their mortgage provider’s standard variable rate – they’re the most expensive and ones that should only be used as a last resort.
Paul Fox, managing director, retail at Royal Bank of Scotland, says: “Life is often busy so it can be difficult to find the time to compare whether you can make savings on your financial commitments.
“These figures show the potential cost if someone never switched any of these outgoings.
“Moving mortgage, for example, could provide you with enough to pay for a holiday each year.”