Over 50s Home Insurance

The golden rule here is to remember that you are in control – there are many home insurers competing for your business, and you should compare providers to find the cheapest home insurance for you avoid hefty increases on your renewal date. Start by getting quotes from at least two comparison sites to increase your chances of getting the best deal. Then get additional quotes from the major insurance brands and over 50s home insurance providers who aren’t featured on the comparison websites. Quotes from a price comparison sites often apply default excess amounts when quoting. These can be quite high and then they frequently invite you to increase your excess for a larger discount. Please remain alert to the total excess that would apply to your claim:  the cheapest policy on comparison sites may not be the best for your needs, and could offer very basic cover. In addition to the total excess,  check the policy terms carefully to ensure you’re getting quoted for the cover you need.

Most standard contents insurance (whether targeted at over 50s or not) will have a limit on both the individual and collective items. As a consequence, if your home rebuild costs or contents valuations are higher than the limits available via comparison sites, you should consider a bespoke policy as offered by High Net Worth (HNW) home insurance specialists. These can be purchased either directly from insurance companies or via a broker. You can arrange cover by contacting high net worth specialist brokers who will deal with the insurance companies on your behalf, and recommend which underwriters best suit your needs. The British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA) holds comprehensive information on specialist brokers and offer a telephone based and online broker location service. Fine art and antiques are also covered directly by specialist providers.

These companies have expertise in valuable items such as antique furniture, books, shotguns, jewellery, fine wines and fine art as well as properties with extremely high specifications to the finishes. They understand the different risks and the need for a bespoke policy and will be able to tailor your policy to fit your needs. High Net Worth insurance need not have a particularly high entry threshold as individual item values can very quickly mount up. Some policies can start from £30,000. Due to the nature of the cover required, security and storage are very important considerations when seeking a HNW policy. It’s important to be able to provide provenance and precise valuations for the items to be covered.

As well as obtaining quotes from several providers, you can reduce the cost of the premium by:

You may have trouble getting your home insured via the normal routes outlined above for the following reasons:

Insurance companies usually treat these risks differently so your application probably won’t fall into the ‘standard’ box that online comparison forms are designed for. In this case there are specialist insurers and brokers you can contact directly. If you’re having trouble finding suitable home insurance, or just prefer to research and buy over the phone, a good starting point is BIBA’s “Signposting” service (BIBA is the British Insurance Broker’s Association). They can put you in touch with a suitable and reputable broker for your particular needs. Contact them on 0870 950 1790, or use BIBA’s online search facility.