Sunday 9 October 2011

Postcodes in London see highest insurance drop in the country

By Summer Monson


Home insurance for postcodes in Jersey are decreasing at a faster rate than anywhere else in the country, with home insurance as a whole decreasing by 0.4 per cent according to data from moneysupermarket. Jersey seeing the largest decrease by a staggering 13 per cent, making Jersey's decrease an incredible 12.6 per cent higher than the average of the country.

Julie Fisher the head of home insurance at moneysupermarket.com is said to have spoken out saying that the dramatic reduction in building insurance prices like the ones seen in Jersey are due to the several factors. These are such things as the mild weather conditions in Jersey. The lower home insurance premiums on the island could also be due to the larger rate of retired citizens, the low crime rate on the island will affect it as well.

Being an island doesn't necessarily mean you should expect to see a reduction in your home insurance premiums. With Jersey's neighbouring island Guernsey seeing a well above average rise of a whopping 32.24 per cent. This on average raised the price of home insurance by 38.60, making it a clearly more expensive place to be buying home insurance suggesting it is a less safe area while home insurance is likely to be needed.

Julie Fisher from moneysupermarket commented : "In the case of Guernsey, Orkney and The Shetland Islands, home insurance cover in Summer 2010 was lower than the national average building insurance price. It is likely that insurers have brought these prices in line with the rest of the country, rather than responding to any specific 'occurrences' on these islands, although climate may play a part. "If your property is classified as being in a 'high-risk' area - whether for crime, flooding or even fraudulent claims - it will be reflected in your insurance premiums. Living in a more affluent area will also increase premiums as property and contents values will generally be higher. Insurers use postcodes as a part of the overall risk factors when calculating premiums. Although there is very little you can do about the postcode in which you live, except move house, there are steps you can take to reduce your premiums, such as, installing a good home security system and security lighting."

Two top tips from MoneySupermarket.com's cheaper home insurance premiums are: "Know the difference between voluntary excess and compulsory excess - Some insurance policies have a compulsory excess which must be paid. A voluntary excess only applies if the policyholder has added it to their policy. Voluntary excess can be used to help reduce the insurance premium. However, people need to be aware that in the event of a claim, the voluntary excess and the compulsory excess together can be expensive. Think about your cover - Do you really need accidental damage cover? This can increase premiums by 25%. Think carefully about the add-ons you need."

A great way to lower your home insurance quote would be to install time switch lights once you have these in your house and you get them to come on at a certain point in time, it will make any would be intruder think that you are in. Thus making the insurance premium cheaper as your house is less likely to be a target for thieves.

If you are in your local neighbourhood watch scheme, this will mean that your house is less prone to break in's as it is being watched. Due to this home insurers will take into account whether you are part of such a scheme and if you are it could reduce your premiums by up to 5%.

With the amount you pay for home insurance changing so quickly doing little things like not smoking inside and fitting fire alarms can all be helpful. Once these things are put in place the amount paid for home insurance will go down. You will even see a decrease in price even if you live in Gurnsey where the insurance prices rose 32.4%.




About the Author:



No comments: