I am in dispute with LV= over the renewal of my home insurance which has gone up from of £160 to £231.
When I queried this by phone I was told it was mostly due to a claim I had made a month earlier – the first in five years. That was for a broken spectacles frame with a replacement cost of £123. I only received £73 after the £50 excess was deducted, which is almost the same as the increase in premium.
It is particularly annoying that I was not informed that making the claim would have any impact upon the premium cost.
I complained and was told that “our underwriters take into account the description of the claim, and not the actual case, when calculating the renewal price”, and that “this is the best price we can offer you this year”. Is this fair? DA, by email
You can’t really be surprised by this, can you? Home insurers now operate unofficial no claims bonuses in the exact same way as the official motor policy providers. Insurers take the view that once you have made one claim you are more likely to make another and price it accordingly. That said, a £70 increase following such a small claim does seem a bit steep.
Personally, I would never have lodged a £123 claim on my home policy a few weeks before a renewal. For small items, don’t claim – leave insurance for the big claims that you can’t afford not to make.
LV= has stood by what you were told and said the £231 is its best price. That is a relatively good deal, even after the increase, but if you can find it cheaper elsewhere you know what to do.
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