Householders urged to shop around for insurance savings

Householders can save almost €400 a year on home insurance by shopping around, the state’s financial watchdog claimed today.

An investigation by the Financial Regulator revealed a wide range of premiums were being offered by companies providing buildings and contents cover.

Mary O’Dea, consumer director, urged people to haggle and check for better deals before accepting a quote.

“With many people feeling the pinch right now, it is more important than ever for consumers to exercise their buying power and to make better choices about financial products,” she said.

“There are three things you should always do when getting insurance: haggle when you are negotiating with your insurance providers, look for better value elsewhere, and ask for discounts when getting quotes.”

Using nine different types of houses, with different ages, values and sizes, the Financial Regulator phoned eight insurance companies for quotes.

These included AIGDirect, Allianz, AXA, FBD, Hibernian, Quinn Direct, Royal and Sun Alliance and Zurich.

The watchdog found that depending on the provider, customers could qualify for discounts under certain circumstances such as age of residents, if the house has an alarm or if there are non-smokers.

It also found differences in premium quotations and excess figures – the first part of any insurance claim you have to pay yourself.

Quinn Direct provided the cheapest quotation in eight out of the nine ’profiles’.