Why talk to an insurance broker….?

Why talk to an insurance broker…… when it appears I can get better value for money insurance online?

In a  culture where we are all generally very astute at gathering information and purchasing most of our products and services online it’s surely a very pertinent question.  We talk to John Dunn our managing director about an experience he had recently that clearly illustrates what those of us that do not read the fine print or lack tangible expertise in the insurance industry need to know.

‘We have recently been working with a number of clients interested in insuring their second homes.  I was having an informal conversation with one such client on the phone and they reassuringly told me that they were perfectly happy with their current provider an online insurance company.  I was interested to hear more about the service that they were receiving as Luker Rowe are always looking to improve.  I knew which property this particular client was referring to in some detail as it was local and I was aware that the construction type wasn’t what we would refer to as standard.  My interest was piqued sufficiently that later that evening I decided to look at the policy wording of the online insurance company to ascertain whether they had broadened their policies to encompass non standard construction types.  I soon realised that this was not the case and that as a result therefore the property could potentially be uninsured.  Clearly I contacted the owner the following day and explained both this and a number of other areas of concern in the policy.  Needless to say, the client was grateful for this and allowed us to look for alternative policies that we could arrange for him.  I am pleased to say that as a result we helped the client move their policy and saved them money with the correct basis of cover as well.  Sadly this is not an exceptional case and we have come across many houses that look a certain construction type eg brick but actually are not. In these circumstances unless the actual construction is clearly stated in the schedule or meets the insurance policy definitions it can invalidate insurance.’

Not an easy lesson to learn but thankfully identified and rectified before anything unforeseen happened and hopefully a useful illustration for those of us who don’t know why we might need an insurance broker and how they can help.

If you would like to talk through your insurance needs or concerns please do feel free to call us for an informal chat on  01494 733337