TIP OF THE WEEK

I MAY be a little late on this one, but we are in the insurance renewal period. Ever since the column started I’ve been warning about the dangers of being under-insured. It is the last thing you need when disaster strikes.

We are constantly bombarded with adverts for the best and cheapest insurance, but carefully check what you are getting when you sign a new policy. There is no such thing as a “cheap” good deal. You get what you pay for, and it is often not what you think you will get. The major insurers seldom run flashy adverts because their products are good and they don’t need to hard sell.

This does not mean you must not check the market and just accept what your current insurer sends you for renewal. Over the last year I had a lot of claims, but did not expect to see my premiums increase by 16%. Shocked, I was straight on the phone to my broker. I asked her to check the market and see what she could do about the 16%. I also asked my company broker to check our personal portfolio. The outcome was the other quotes all came back a lot higher than my current renewal policy and because I fought, my current broker managed to get the 16% increase cut in half.

Also, don’t consider dropping your sums insured to try to reduce your premium, because that will come back to bite you. Any broker who agrees to you doing this – with the possible exception of insuring an ageing car – is not helping you. Most of us are under-insured.

Remember to insure your building for what it would cost to rebuild, not what council says it is worth. Building cover is relatively cheap insurance, so don’t sell yourself short.