House insurance – the rise

A topic that has dominated the news of late, the widespread flooding and torrential rainstorms are still causing havoc for many even after the flood waters have receded.Many thousands of people are now left struggling to rebuild their lives, shattered by the devastating impact of flooding on their homes and families. What are the long term implications of this natural disaster? For many it will mean months of tiring work reclaiming their homes from the flood damage that has besieged them. Returning accommodation to a condition whereby it is liveable will involve many phone calls to the insurer to arrange repair and compensation. For those unfortunate not to have any insurance in place, the reality of the situation can be much grimmer. Perhaps even more worrying for those with insurance already in place and indeed those now wishing to purchase protection; insurance industry experts warn that the average policy could rise by up to 50% in flood affected areas. Indeed the bill to insurance companies is thought to stand at around £2.5 billion, a loss felt deeply and one that surely every effort will be made to compensate for by introducing premium hikes across the board. During the course of the flooding and rainstorms, it is thought that at least 39,000 homes were damaged. This has already resulted in one well known insurer raising their premiums by 10%, a move expected by many and one that will no doubt be echoed by other insurers.For many the cost of house insurance can be expensive and some of us may feel that we can live without it. The heavy flooding experienced has certainly proved otherwise and shown what a valuable resource it is. The question is; can you afford not to have it in light of recent events? Many mortgage lenders will not release any money until the property, for which the mortgage was taken, has in place building insurance (contents insurance is not usually demanded but should be deemed equally important). For many this may have been a saving grace as without this, the option of home insurance may have been overlooked. It is not that difficult to find a cheap home insurance policy if you are willing to do a bit of detective work. The use of comparison site’s can be recommended as they will acquire quotes from a vast range of insurers and return the best prices for you to browse. One golden rule when looking for an insurance policy of any kind and one that I mention always in my articles is as follows; do not decide on a policy simply by cost. Of course this is going to be a deciding factor as is any financial decision, but the reality is you may be unknowingly choosing a policy lacking coverage in key areas. Always investigate the coverage you will receive in any prospective policy and ensure it matches your minimum levels of requirement in terms of amount of contents and buildings cover. If this happens to be the cheapest policy then all the better.