Home insurance is important. It’s something we all need and for many of us is part and parcel of the conditions of our mortgages. What would you do is your home set on fire and burned down? How would you rebuild without insurance? What if someone broke into your house and stole your belongings? Home and contents insurance is highly advisable however many of us are paying more than we need to for our policies. We could all do with finding the best home insurance policy for us, both in terms of cost and what is included. Let’s have a look at how to save money on your home insurance auto renewal.
Haggle, Haggle, Haggle
When you have a home insurance policy in place, towards the expiry date, the company will usually send you a renewal price. This will be based on the same details you provided last year and is usually more than what you paid last year. Not always, as some policies will be cheaper, however it will usually be more expensive. If you want your home insurance auto renewal to kick in, you don’t have to do anything. However if you want to cancel, you have to contact them usually over the phone, to cancel it. This is one way that businesses try and keep you as a customer and get your next 12 months of business. Cancelling can be easy as some of them offer an email or live chat option. However they usually want you on the phone to try and convince you to stay if you were going to cancel. The power is in your hands though because you can use this phone call to haggle.
You will usually find that the customer service agent can give you a discount straight away. So if you are happy with the service, you can, in most instances, get a discount with a simple phone call. They will then alter your home insurance auto renewal price to reflect this discount and resend your paperwork via email or post. However, if they don’t give you a price you are happy with, don’t be worried about cancelling that renewal and hanging up the phone.
Change How You Pay
You might be able to save more on your home insurance auto renewal by changing how you pay. If you pay monthly, you are paying a fee for that privilege. Those who pay annually will get a better price. Often, those that pay monthly end up paying the equivalent of an extra month or two over the year, compared to those who pay an annual rate. If you have the money, this simple switch can lower your home insurance auto renewal price.
Swap Suppliers
Swapping suppliers is easy. Make a note of when your current policy comes to an end so you know when to start with a new company from. There are comparison sites that you can use which will give you a range of different prices from different companies. However there are also businesses that are not on comparison sites so be sure to contact some of them too. The cheapest on the comparison site isn’t necessarily the best option for you, check what it includes. However if your current provider and your home insurance auto renewal is too expensive, you’ll be able to find a new policy that works for you from across the board. It’s also worth doing this before you accept your home insurance auto renewal too. It’ll give you a ballpark figure of what price you should be paying to compare your renewal to.
Click Through A Cashback Site
If you are looking to lower your home insurance auto renewal even further, make sure you check cashback sites. If you click through Quidco or Top Cashback, you can earn cashback when you make a purchase. it’s always worth checking what rates are available as this is a great way to bring down your cost. You might be able to earn £50+ when you take out a new policy. If your policy costs you the UK average of around £140, when you take cashback into consideration, it brings your price in at under £100! Well worth a look!
Make sure you aren’t paying more than you need to be when you get your home insurance auto renewal. If you can find ways to save money, you can utilise it in other areas of your personal finance.
