... Why are they changing their name to Aviva?
Legal & General GBP 128.26 for GBP 25,000 cover
GBP 103.69 for GBP 15,000 cover
I plumped for Legal & General for GBP 15,000 cover.
LEGAL AND GENERAL
I first came across Legal & General when they sponsored ... Read review
Advantages: Company well known to me Disadvantages: I have yet to make a claim
...to Aviva?
Legal & General GBP 128.26 for GBP 25,000 cover
GBP 103.69 for GBP 15,000 cover
I plumped for Legal & General for GBP 15,000 cover.
LEGAL AND GENERAL
I first came across Legal & General when they sponsored the ITV weather a few years ago. Then I was into Sian Lloyd, the gorgeous weather girl. The logo of the multi-coloured umbrella was eye-catching.
... ...took out GBP 50,000 family legal protection.
One thing that I did not like was that the customer services telephone number was a 0870 number.
Basically I put all the documents in a wallet folder.
ACCOUNTING SCAMS
About 12 years ago my father took me to meet his accountant. I wanted to form a limited company so that I could be a freelance analyst programmer. Fortunately the plans ... more
WRITTEN July 2002
INTRODUCTION
I mentioned in my CGNU op that both my father and I were ripped off by Norwich Union Direct home insurance. It was obviously time to change my home insurer.
This op deals with my quest for a new home insurer provider. My knowledge of insurance is very basic so I shall try to explain everything in layman terms.
SHOPPING AROUND FOR QUOTES
Believe it or not this was my first ever search for a home insurance quote. I did take out standard contents insurance at university but that was a long time ago.
My father has always paid the home contents insurance premium on the flat. I was happy to let him as it saved me about GBP 120 every year.
During arguments my father always told me that as he paid the home insurance premium I ought to always listen to him about everything i.e. I was to be his doormat.
By taking over the home insurance I hoped to remove one of my father’s claws from my back.
I did not consult the Internet for any quotes. I contacted a short list of companies by phone. Note that these calls are recorded so it is better to be truthful.
The sales staff asked mostly the same questions. Here is a selection:
Address of property to be insured? Your name, date of birth and occupation? Ditto for partner? Current insurer? Date for the new policy to start? Any insurance claims made in the last 3 years? Is insured property your own residence? Type of property eg house, flat etc.? Number of bedrooms? When property built? Any unusual materials used in construction of property? Any recent flooding? Any business use in the property? Property occupied solely by family? Is property regularly occupied? Property will not be left unoccupied for more than 40 days? Membership of any neighbourhood watch scheme? Any smoke alarm fitted? Any burglar alarm fitted?
The average call took about 5 minutes. A quote was then given which was valid for a number of days. I found it helpful to ask for a written quotation to compare insurers.
THE QUOTES
Halifax GBP 129.96. The sales staff was quite eager for me to pay for the policy at once. They told me that they were cheaper than Norwich Union Direct. This was a lie. But the paperwork carried the impressive logo ‘Insurer of the year’.
Nationwide GBP 162.20. The sales staff was quite friendly.
Lloyds TSB No quote given! As I was unemployed they refused to cover me. Being a Lloyds TSB bank current account holder I regularly get bombarded with mailshots about the low-cost Lloyds TSB insurance.
Tesco GBP 163.80. Probably the friendliest sales staff I encountered.
Abbey National GBP 225.42 I felt that the sales staff was quite cheesed off. This was the most expensive quote.
Churchill GBP 191.10. I only contacted Churchill because I liked the Churchill dog on the TV adverts. I enquired about buying the dog. It costs GBP 12.80 or GBP 10 if you are a Churchill policyholder.
Norwich Union Direct GBP 119.68. The annual renewal was very competitive. Why are they changing their name to Aviva?
Legal & General GBP 128.26 for GBP 25,000 cover GBP 103.69 for GBP 15,000 cover
I plumped for Legal & General for GBP 15,000 cover.
LEGAL AND GENERAL
I first came across Legal & General when they sponsored the ITV weather a few years ago. Then I was into Sian Lloyd, the gorgeous weather girl. The logo of the multi-coloured umbrella was eye-catching.
About 2 or 3 years ago I was looking for a company from which I could buy an ISA. I chose a corporate bonds fund from L & G. I was quite impressed with the service.
About 6 months afterwards I became an L & G shareholder. One reason was that I might get shareholder discounts on insurance products. The HQ of L & G is in Cardiff. As I was born in Pontypool, Wales I felt that this was another reason to buy their shares.
L & G shares have performed reasonably well but have fallen since September 11th and the recent stock market falls.
The only bad thing I have heard about them was that earlier this year a few employees were caught fiddling their own accounts.
Being an L & G shareholder meant that I got 15% discount on the home insurance.
THE POLICY
Plenty of documentation came with the policy. It took ages to read all of it.
The policy booklet was quite detailed but very difficult to read. Nearly all eventualities are covered. But at the end of each chapter there were a few exceptions where the policy would not pay out.
I took out GBP 50,000 family legal protection.
One thing that I did not like was that the customer services telephone number was a 0870 number.
Basically I put all the documents in a wallet folder.
ACCOUNTING SCAMS
About 12 years ago my father took me to meet his accountant. I wanted to form a limited company so that I could be a freelance analyst programmer. Fortunately the plans fell awry.
The accountant and my father began discussing other clients. The accountant said that some of his clients demanded back 10 times the cost of basic expenses from the Inland Revenue eg home insurance, petrol claims, telephone calls. If the costs added up to GBP 300, his clients would demand GBP 3000.
The recent accounting scandals involving Enron and Worldcom are just the tip of an iceberg. Even my school headmaster told me to consider accounting as he thought that I could fiddle the books.
Many moons ago the girl I loved was stolen by an accountant. I have since hated all ******* accountants.
When my wife told my father about the change of home insurer and the fact that I paid for the policy he was in shock and later flew into a rage spouting obscenities. I guess that his expense claim from his accountant will be less than usual this year.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I am glad that I have changed my home insurer.
I cannot add anything to this op until I have made a claim.
So far I have been pleased with Legal & General. But bear in mind I am currently an L & G shareholder and could be biased towards them.
But then I was also an Aviva shareholder when I had my home insurance with them.
I have tried to make this op as basic as possible.
Finally congratulations to Sarah (Trampus) on reaching 300 ops.
UPDATED August 2003
A renewal quote came about a month before the policy expired. I hate shopping around for insurance and so only took another quote from Tesco. Both quotes were around GBP 116.
HOME AND CAR INSURANCE COMPLIMENTARY DISCOUNTS
Nowadays several insurers offer discounts if their car insurance is also taken. But Legal & General refused to give me a car insurance quote, as I did not have the minimum number of years no claims bonus.
I decided to change to Tesco home insurance mainly because no Legal & General car insurance quote was forthcoming. Another reason was that the Tesco customer services telephone number began with 0845 rather the more costly 0870 telephone number of Legal & General.
Legal & General home insurance is a very good stand-alone product. But the company should look at other insurance products and offer discounts to existing customers.
Advantages: O.K. if you use it as a means of saving Disadvantages: If you thought it would pay of your mortgage, chances are it will not.
After the recent publicity there has been regarding Endowment Policies linked to Mortgages, I decided to look further into the matter, although us holders of this type of policy were told not to panic. I kept thinking that I did not want to still have a mortgage during my retirement years and the information I had been fed was not conclusive.
I know we can not forsee the future, but the majority of people with an Endowement Policy expected to have their Mortgage cleared at the end of the term. I had received a couple of letters from my Insurance company which is Legal and GeneralAssurance, informing me there may be a shortfall at the end of the policy term. It gave you average growth rates of 4, 6 and 8%. On their figures, the worst scenario I could expect would be an £18,600 shortfall at a 4% growth rate,(not pennies you must ...
Advantages: fast quotes - helpful staff - easy to read paperwork Disadvantages: hidden costs and loadings to premiums - time to process - poor knowledge of medical underwriting
pressure but nothing to worry about.
Cover: £200,000 Fixed - 25 year term - fixed premiums
A list of quotes came back and Legal and General were the cheapest and I was happy that they were a company I had heard of before, even if it was via a Dave Gorman programme! They quoted £7.79 per month and I was a happy bunny. I duly printed off the application forms and quote and proceeded to answer 5 pages of questions relating to my family medical history to how much I drink and smoke not forgetting to include any pre-existing medical conditions. The forms were completed and posted in early November 2005 as I wanted the cover to start on 1st December 2005.
2 weeks passed and nothing was forthcoming from Legal & General so I called them. They had no record of my application but the staff were helpful and the phones were answered quickly. They ...
Advantages: None Disadvantages: Do not help when you need it most
My husband became self-employed about 8 years ago and with the onset of him going it alone, this meant that we would loose the H.S.A. cover his employer gave him. A fellow IT contractor put my hubby in touch with this gentleman who arranges cover for fellow IT self-employed bods.
Amongst all the other policies we took out to safeguard our future and that of my children, was one for private health care. We were told to go for LEGAL AND GENERALASSURANCESOCIETY for their health care plan.
This policy appeared to be family friendly and as long as you are not over 74 years of age, then they will give you cover. Legal and general have been around for more years than I care to remember so we thought yeah ok, we can trust them.
We checked the website out, which is www.legal-and-general.co.uk and the company seemed quite genuine ...
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