It's the Money Guy

Why Checking your Insurance could save you £££££’s

The first thing people think off (generally speaking) is, “yep I got the cheapest deal I could find”. This is wrong. That should be the last question you ask as it is important, but probably not the be all and end all….

Do you check your insurances regularly?

The first thing people think off (generally speaking) is, “yep I got the cheapest deal I could find”.
This is wrong. That should be the last question you ask as it is important, but probably not the be all and end all….

When did you last check all your insurances? Home insurance? Car insurance? Life insurance? Mobile phone insurance? Van insurance? Public liability insurance? Travel insurance? … So on and so on….There are so many!

But when did you last CHECK them?

The purpose of insurance is to put you back into the same situation that you were in prior to the event happening. It’s about getting what you want from a policy. Which tends to have to be warranted. (some insurance products are very heavily regulated).

First of all, do you need it!? Stupid question, but a goodin’ – DO YOU EVEN NEED IT!? Generally, home insurance will cover your mobile phone under “personal possessions” part of your policy. Then a lot of people will pay, sometimes even more per month for the mobile phone insurance than what it is to insure their whole house, on top. Why? It’s already insured. Save yourself £15/£20/£25 p/m by getting rid of it. (if you’re not sure if your home insurance policy covers it, send me a pic of your schedule and I’ll let you know). Some people pay for breakdown cover for their car, when they are already fully covered on their car insurance policy. Why!?

Second question: always ask yourself, does this insurance policy cover me for what I need? If the answer to that is no, then why on earth are you paying for it? Now, this could be price driven, particularly when referencing life insurance, but it’s good to ask why?
If the answer is yes, then we progress the questioning!

Third question: is the customer service good? I’ll position this question another way though…the way and methods that they have in place to service your requests and needs, are they suitable for you? There are loads of methods of customer service. Phone calls are not the only way you can do business. While you’re busy saving on insurance, you may also want to consider creating a buffer for your personal assets. Learn the ins and outs on how to open an llc in florida can give you that extra security layer with your finances. Is the online service, seamless and easy? Can you just walk into the shop and talk to a real life actual person? Are you happy with the phone service..? If the answer to that is yes, we progress it further.

Question four: Does it have any additional stuff that’s actually quite useful to ME (you!)? It’s great having loads of additional items, but is there a need, want or benefit? Could you see yourself using them? If yes, progress further!

So the covers good, it’s got loads of add ons which are mostly relevant to me (you) and I love how they do business. Nows the time to start asking the in depth questions, particularly surrounding price.

Question five: are there excesses to pay? There are two types of excesses, one you will definitely have to pay, if stiplated and one which you don’t have to pay. Compulsory excess is the one that you HAVE to pay in the event of claiming. In English, you need to claim for something, you will have to pay the insurance company £100 (if that’s what was set) before the insurance company pay anything out to you. There’s also voluntary excess. This is where it gets a bit tricky. A voluntary excess is the amount you pay ON TOP OFF the compulsory excess. So If you put a voluntary excess of £100 AND you needed to claim. You’d have to pay £200 (£100 compulsory and £100 voluntary) before the insurance company pay anything out/fix/ replace whatever it is you’re trying to claim for. Sometimes insurance companies ASSUME you want to put a voluntary excess on your policy, so read the policy carefully before purchasing! Also you can have different excesses on one policy, depending on what you are claiming for. For example claiming for damage to your vehicle might have a compulsory excess of £100, fire and theft could be £150 and claiming for windscreen could be £50. Some insurance companies will tell you that by adding a voluntary excess to your policy will actually REDUCE your premium… Which…technically…is true. It might. But are you prepared to pay £100 extra in the event of a claim, if it brings your annual premium down by only a few quid?? Maybe.. I’ll leave that for you to decide. Happy with the excesses? Cool, moving onto the final question!

Question 6: how much is all this going to cost?
The question everyone is concerned about. If all of the above is perfect and costs £1,000,000,000 then….well, for the majority, it’s probably a no.
Is the price fair? Can you get yes’ to all of the above first and get it cheaper elsewhere? If the answer to this final question is no and you can afford it.. Then and only t hen, buy it!

Remember to get quotes from companies who don’t appear on comparison sites, remember to use local brokers too, they can sometimes beat the big boys and go to all the normal, usual suspects places too to make sure you have the best deal for you. Also remember to be honest and truthful when you get quotes. Any short comings could invalidate your insurance cover.

Finally CHALLENGE ME!! I’d love to know what you pay and see if I can get you cheaper deals! ? let’s try and save some ?! check out Its The Money Guy’s Website

Why not get in touch and see how I can help?

If you have any questions relating to money or starting or running your own business, feel free to send me a message!

About the author

Adam Phillips

After being in the banking industry for over 10 years, its time to help educate people and business owners to the best of my ability!
We live in a world where (For some reason) Money isn't taught in the education system at all.
I'm here to help support both the household and the small business owner by helping save them money. More often than not, the household and the business owner is not too dissimilar. It's so easy to go about your day and never take the time to work out if what you are doing is the most reliable, most efficient or most relevant for you. This is where I come in!
Get more tips & advice from me here:
loveandover.com/its-the-money-guy/