Hi all
I have received my renewal for Home and Contents Insurance from Budget Direct and they have bumped it up quite a lot this time around (haven't made any claims either). You can always bank on an increase but 20% seems high.
What are the best options for shopping around to see who can offer a better deal without necessarily being bombarded by phone calls from the usual comparison sites?
Any pointers would be welcomed.
Cheers
comparison sites i find are biased towards one big company, so i tend to just take their quotes with a grain of salt
better to look at 5+ companies and do your own comparison
But the majors aren't always the best options hence asking the wider community of decent priced brains.
A lot of the majors pay a bucket load for advertising (AAMI springs to mind as they are all over TV channels) which they generally have to recover somewhere.
without necessarily being bombarded by phone calls
Do what I do every year - spend a few minutes online looking.
If the company asks for personal details, a phone number, or an email address, just make something up.
Any particular sites you go to???
No particular sites, as long it isn't a Dodgy Brother's site where the assessor lives in another state and the underwriter isn't based in Russia. :)
I also keep away from the el cheapo companies who have quotes well below the average, you only get what you pay for.
Like others have said, just do online quotes with a few. There arent actually that many underwriting companies, so all the Suncorp brands have different names but same underwriter / parent company (AAMI, GIO, Bingle, APIA etc); however they all have different markets and products so dont think you are getting the same thing. For example, some policies exclude flood insurance (may or may not be an issue), they have different periods and consequences for uninhabited houses (not usually an issue unless you are away a bit for long periods) etc.
So its also worth comparing what is being offered
Dont forget that the excess has a significant effect on your premium
Nearly every insurance company has a website with free online quotes.
In the time you posted this you could have compared at least 2. Infact, in the last 37 minutes while awaiting responses you could have compared all the majors.
Avoid comparison sites. They just want their commission not the best deal for you.
Heavy rain and flooding have pushed all premiums up. Pick your poison.