Tag Archives: price rises

Insurance Renewal Blues . . .

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Bean Soup with tortilla chip bits – my doomed final attempt at being sophisticated

I opened an email from the company that arranges my house insurance today. It’s been lurking in my inbox for a while and I’ve been putting it off. Bearing in mind how my car insurance shot up, I was not looking forward to this. It has gone up by 50%. At least, unlike my car insurer, they spared me the excuses, though they did say that although I had been with them for  while I may be able to get a better deal elsewhere. They are right. I can get insurance cover for about half what I was paying last year. Business is business and I don’t take offence at being asked for an inflted price. That, after all, is the basis of the business I am in. We name a price, the customer names a ridiculously low offer, and so it goes on . . .

However, our prices are based on judgement and we would not ask more than something was really worth. With insurance it’s less clear cut. Despite recent changes in the law, it still seems like companies keep boosting your premium to see what they can get away with. It’s not a pleasant feeling.

My soup flask – itb holds nearly two mugs.

I’m currently with a broker called Swinton. They are a national company that took over the local broker that used to do my insurance.  Their prices for house insurance and business insurance were always OK. When I tried them with my car a few years ago they were great for a year and then it went badly wrong with a quote that seemed wildly out of proportion. I changed provider and even after the latest rise in prices I am paying considerably less than that Swinton quote. I was tempted to move all the business but the household price stayed reasonable.

The new price was a shock, though not a surprise, and I just had a look round. I can do a lot better.

The top of my soup flask – a folding spoon sits in a recess in the lid. I never use it, but I like gadgets.

Of course, there is always an element of fear in swapping insurers, but sometimes you have to move. I can take out insurance with a company that will charge me a lot less than the current quote. I can’t, however, guarantee that they will be any good if the house falls down. On the other hand, having never made a claim, I can’t guarantee you that any of the previous insurers would have been any good either.

I am with a reputable car insurer, and have no worries there. I am with a reputable breakdown service, though I always feel the service may be less good than the AA. So far it’s been OK, but you never know . . .

Nettle soup with a very poor attempt at a swirl of cream

Now I’m changing house insurance. I have been with many people before, as Swinton is only a broker, so it’s not as if I really had a relationship with any insurer. At least by going directly I can select an insurer with a name that I recognise. It’s just a fear of change, rather than a logical fear, but it all adds up. That’s why I’m reading a book about being happy. So far, it’s not really working.

I think it’s broccoli soup. But it might be a failed experiment in producing life from primeval slime. I’m ambivalent about broccoli at the best of times, so it may even be a bit of both . . .

Today’s pictures are soup. Nothing like winter to make soup look attractive. Even broccoli soup.

Insurance, Injections and Irises

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Arkwright the Tortoise

Part Two of Today’s Posts. Part One is here.

I know car insurance has been going up because it’s been in the news a lot. I suspect it’s been in the news a lot because insurance companies have been drip-feeding us information to make us get used to the idea of a big price rise.

I’ve even had a note from my company to tell me the price rises are for reasons like the cost of complicated repairs, the cost of mechanic’s wages and various other factors that I translated to “blah blah, blah”. That’s even before you look at things like the greed and mendacity of insurance companies.

It’s gone up by about 40%.  Just at the moment, I can’t be bothered to get a new quote so, despite a good driving record and lack of claims I will just brace myself and take what the insurance company dishes out. It’s still, actually less than I was paying when I started to shop around five years ago. At that time my insurance company (Churchill) was treating me like a prize specimen that they had fattened up for the slaughter. I went with Swinton, who used to cover my business and household insurance and they cut the price considerably.  After the first year they  presented me with a massive price hike so I left and went to another company. As I say, they are still charging less than Churchill.

Yellow Flag

And that is another insight for the mythical student doing his/her future PhD on the lives of unfamous 21st Century poets.

I’ve had a text from the surgery asking for feedback on my visit today. I’ve also had several texts this week telling me to book in for this and that test. What with my normal blood tests, my quarterly blood tests,  three vaccinations, my regular rheumatology appointments, the X-Ray and the Urology referral, I really don’t have time to go to work. Unfortunately, despite regular stories in the press about high levels of benefit and the ease of benefit fraud, I don’t seem to be able to access all this cash and am actually better off working. This is, of course, supposed to be the case, as the benefit system is supposed to prevent starvation rather than provide an alternative to work. Next year, when I draw my pension, I will have plenty of time and will be able to devote myself to being a full time patient.

Meanwhile, I have a sore spot on the arm which had the flu vaccine and no reaction on the shingles arm. Sometimes I really am disappointed in the lack of drama that attends all this vaccination. I will be having a booster in two months, we will have to see what happens then.

Damsel Fly – Wilford

Photos are from May 2020 – our lockdown holiday, and include Arkwright the rambling tortoise. Julia saw him last summer but he is now presumably in a box, dreaming of next summer. It’s an interesting way of ensuring eternal sunlight – I may give it a try when I retire.

First Frost and That Time of Year Again

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We had our first frost today. It was very late this year. If I’d been a better diarist over the years I would be able to compare it properly, but can’t. Tonight, a day late, I put the cover on my windscreen to prevent it frosting up. It probably won’t freeze now, though they were gritting roads tonight so the council must expect it. We’ve been lucky so far but, realistically, winter hasn’t really started yet.

I’m spending my evenings daydreaming about the house I will build if I win the lottery. This isn’t the one in an air-conditioned bubble in the desert, this is the slightly mor realistic one with ground source heat pumps, solar panels, a windmill and lots of insulation. I’ve not decided whether to build it into the side of a hill yet, but will probably have a garage I can drive straight into. And a narrow gauge railway for taking the bins to the bottom of the drive.

This, of course, relies on a larger win that my normal disappointing wins of between £2 and £5. It always seems like I’ve used all my luck up with one of those wins, when I would rather save all my luck up for one big win. Sadly, the laws of probability don’t seem to work like that. It’s a bit like good luck charms – if that “lucky” rabbit’s foot was really that lucky it would still be attached to a rabbit.

I’ve just been looking at my household insurance renewal. We have never claimed on it and it has just gone up by 25%. The broker I use lost my car insurance business with an outlandish renewal price a couple of years ago and it looks like they are heading the same way with the house now. There’s something distinctly unsavoury about insurance companies and the way prices rise at random. The problem I always have at this time of year is that I’m too busy to mess around with quotes so I tend to nod it through. To be fair their prices have always been reasonable, but this move is a bit steep.

I’ll give them another year, but after that it looks like it will be the end. Once an insurance broker loses your trust, the end is not far away.

Frosted bamboo

Photos are from December 2017 – a colder winter.