Insurance

For many years we insured our house and its contents with Halifax, for most of that time a mutual. We didn't think about it. We made maybe one or two small claims.

Then maybe twenty years ago they started to drift the rates up. Mostly I didn't notice or didn't bother to do anything about it. Then from time to time, I started to complain at their branch in Epsom. This usually resulted in clouds of soothing waffle and a substantially reduced renewal fee.

In the end I got fed up with this and left them in favour of Direct Line - with my letter to Halifax explaining why they had lost my custom going unanswered. Perhaps I should have done one of those stunts whereby you cunningly package up your letter so that it actually comes to the attention of someone important. But life is too short.

And now, four years, later I notice that Direct Line have played the same game. Rather cross, I phone them and have to listen to some truly dreadful music for a few minutes. Then a substantially reduced renewal fee in short order. At least I was spared the clouds of waffle.

But it has left me rather angry with the system. I don't suppose that there is much point in changing insurers again as I expect all the big companies play the same tiresome game. Is there really no room in the housing marketplace for companies that play a bit fairer? What is it that is different about the motor marketplace which means that Ford Insure do not find it necessary to push our rates up year after year?

PS: I wonder now whether the energy companies will join in, pushing us into wasting still more time negotiating with them.

Reference 1: http://psmv2.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/halifax.html. Being my earlier notice about getting cross with Halifax.