Renewing House Insurance

[Pierre ZFP]

I just had a letter today from my insurers saying the insurance is due on 1st March

The amount is, I think, high at nearly 700 Euros for a small maison secondaire given that I have never made a claim.

I what to get other quotes but I seem to remember something about giving 3 months notice that I want to cancel the current policy.  Can this be right?

Also, any particular recommendations for insurers? (Please PM me if you prefer)

Thanks

[sid]

I'm sure someone will come along with more definite answers but I have it in mind that you can change insurers a lot easier than used to be the case a few years ago. I THINK your new insurer (when you've found one) will do the necessary cancellation for you, after all they'll be happy to get your new business.

I can't say whether you are paying too much; I certainly pay less than that but without knowing whether we're comparing apples with oranges it's hopeless. My premium has not gone up this year; there has been some reorganisation within the Allianz group who I'm with, and premiums have been rationalised (so I'm told). I had a huge claim last year for a boiler replacement and that doesn't appear to have affected my premium.

If you are using an agent it would be worth going in to the office and asking him/her to have a look at your policy; I've found that there is always an amount that can be "tweaked"; I presume it comes off the commision.

Online insurance doesn't appear to be well-established yet, but after last year's claim and the way the agent dealt with it on my behalf (language problems, loss assessors etc) I'm happy to stay with him and the current insurance company.

 

[Hoddy]

Last year our premiums went up to E417.51. Like you it's for a smallish house although we have two large barns. We have never made a claim and had been with the same company for ten years.

We were fed up of the premiums going up each year and so we went into the local town and re-insured for E290.64. They did all the paperwork for us. So, as Sid points out, if you can do that it's a good idea.

Our bill from the old company came in time for us to give three months notice. I thought this was the law now.

Hoddy

[Quillan]

I have been with a few different companies in France and am currently with AXA. I think it also depends on who the agent is. I have claimed a new washing machine and some glasses from them and had a cheque within days but from the agent rather from AXA direct. I don't know how that works but for me it was quick. I do remember that others on the forum have dealt with AXA and found them terrible, very inefficient and slow so my conclusion is that the problem can be with the agent. A friend of mine has had a big fight with Swiss Life over insurance n his caravan that was written off in a storm last wintr. It took around eight months to get it sorted because basically as a caravan they didn't know how to get the damage appraised and possibly fixed.

If you want to do a comparison then you can use http://www.assurland.com then only trouble is you tend to get a few phone calls afterwards from different agents but you just put the phone down on them.

Cancelling, well as far as I know it is to do with the date stamp on the envelope the renewal letter came in but as said the new insurer will deal with canceling the old insurance. I prefer to post the letter myself to ensure that it actually goes and it is recorded delivery which is very important.

[sid]

Another point, Pierre.... The risks for a maison-secondaire are higher, as the house is empty for longer periods than a primary residence; this will affect the premiums I'm sure.

It's very difficult to compare premiums with other people's; I've tried, but we all seem to have different configurations and insured values. Some companies calculate on a formulaic basis, just taking square metres and then adding on your contents values; other want to have a good look around and pluck a figure from the air.

My worry about doing it online is that you may forget to mention some material fact (because you don't know what IS material) which could come back and bite you on the bum in the event of a major claim.

[powerdesal]

Not a house insurance question so please forgive the thread drift:-

Car Insurance.

Our renewal notice just arrived, the base premium is less than last year, down from E685.42 to E660.81. However, the coeff. Reduction-majoration has changed from 0.54 last year to 0.51 this year hence the net cotisation is lower as are the taxes making the required sum a bit lower - that's good of course.

But.......I am confused by the coeff. I assumed that multiplying the reference figure by the coeff. would result in the nette cotisation, it doesn't by approx E 20.

It didn't last year as well - where am I going wrong ???????

[SC]

[quote user="Pierre ZFP"]I just had a letter today from my insurers saying the insurance is due on 1st March..................I what to get other quotes but I seem to remember something about giving 3 months notice that I want to cancel the current policy.  Can this be right?
[/quote]

The loi Chatel deals with renewal notices sent by insurance companies too late for the recipient to cancel under the standard terms. Basically you have 20 days after the renewal notice was sent to you in which to cancel the contract. As already stated your new insurance company will usually handle this for you. If you wish to deal with it yourself, here is a lettre de resiliation that you can fill in and send off: http://www.loichatel.com/resiliation-loi-chatel.php

Steve

[Val_2]

That is correct but it is 20 WORKING days from date of reminder or frank mark on the envelope,whichever is the latest.

[Pierre ZFP]

RESULT!

A quick look on Assurland (thanks Q) and I got 5 quotes all about the same and ONE THIRD of what current insurers want !

Thanks also to SC for the letter, that goes in the post tonight A-R

And thanks Val-2  for the time limit info, the letter was dated 8th Feb but the envelope was dated last Friday!!!

I'm one happy bunny [:D]

[mint]

I keep mine as low as possible, for both our houses, by not specifying any high value items.

This is because the only things that I would find difficult to replace would be jewellery left to me by my grandmother (serious bling) and my piano and OH's violin.

My thinking is that if those things were lost or destroyed or stolen (who's going to walk off with my piano?), then for me they would be truly irreplaceable so why bother with insurance to "replace" them?

I have never insured those things and I am prepared to do without them or buy other similar but not comparable items should they be lost.

[SC]

[quote user="Val_2"]That is correct but it is 20 WORKING days from date of reminder or frank mark on the envelope,whichever is the latest.[/quote]

Can you tell me where I can find this please Val? Everything that I have read, including the text of the law, simply says "20 days".

There's a useful little pictogramme for different scenarios at http://www.assurland.com/resiliation-de-contrat-assurance/resiliez-plus-facilement-votre-contrat-avec-la-loi-chatel.html

Steve

[Benjamin]

Pierre

Get ready for a 'phone call/visit from the agent informing you of one of the following or a combination of all three.

1. The law was never enacted.

2. It doesn't apply to individuals, only companies.

3. Anything else they can think up (1. and 2. are not exhaustive).

[Pierre ZFP]

Yeah I was wondering about that.

Last year I paid by credit card, I think I will tell my bank to block any transactions from the agent in case she tries to re-use the card details.  It would be fraud I know but I would rather she didn't get her hands on the money rather than try and claim it back after.

[Val_2]

SC - The Working days limit was given to me by Groupama when I changed five policies over to them because weekends are not counted for anything as nothing can be done during those days and it is not considered as part of the 20 day notice.

[Pickles]

We cancelled a policy with Groupama, within the 20 days, by LRAR, quoting chapter and verse, using a formula that we found on the internet - possibly Assurland's, and asking for confirmation. We didn't cancel the DD mandate (because it costs 10.50€ to do so - and Groupama had set up TWO mandates!!), but I kept an eye on the account on-line. Sure enough, Groupama tried to take the prelevement. As it was "en traitement" when I saw it, I was able to oppose it free of charge and the payment never left the account. I wait, without bated breath, to see if the confirmation of the policy cancellation that I requested has arrived when we get back to the UK.