Tim Streater wrote:
In article c%Q4o.8541$806.1461@hurricane,
"Norman Wells" wrote:

Tim Streater wrote:

Insurance only really works when risks are fairly low. So if 1 in
10,000 houses burns down each year, and the average house is worth
say ?250k, everyone pays ?25/year in fire insurance (plus a bit
more). That means all 10,000 householders can cease to worry about
that particular risk.
That's what you're paying the premium for - so you don't have to
worry. It's for you to decide which risks you don't care about. To
do that in a sensible way, of course, you'll have to do a risk
assessment for each type of risk. That's what insurance companies
do, and they're quite good at it (they go bust if they're not).
Better at it than you are, at any rate.

Judging by the profits they make, they're much, much better at it
than me, to the extent of charging me possibly double what the risk
actually is. That's the gripe.

So shop around. There's this little thing called competition. At the
end of the day, you're faced with the choice. Is the premium they want
higher than avoiding the risk is worth to you? If so, don't take out
the insurance.

I did a few years back, but got constantly refused on numerous websites for
not being able to answer questions such as 'Brick or stone construction?'
with a simple yes or no. My house is 200 years old and it's not quite that
simple because some of it is, but other bits are timber frame, lath and
plaster. Also it's a bit difficult even to say whether it's detached or
semi-detached because it's mainly detached but there is a small join to the
neighbouring house.

Most insurance companies seem only to want bog standard business based on
bog standard houses. If you don't fall into that category, it gets a lot
more difficult and time-consuming. So, it's not quite that easy.

Mr Invisible said he paid less than £200 a year. I bet
you spend that much in a couple of months on petrol. Hardly seems
excessive to me.

I agree. If it was that low, I wouldn't give it much thought. It's because
it's just crept up over £300 that I am.

I just wonder if anyone here has actually received back from their
house insurance company more than they've paid out in premiums. There
should be some if the companies aren't rampantly profiteering
on the back of unjustified anxiety.

Well I have - I told you up-thread. I had subsidence that would prolly
cost £20k or more to fix. One phone call the the company (More Than)
and they sorted it. Took a few years, but they wait for at least a
year to be sure that the movement has stopped.

OK, fair enough.

I know. It's my choice!