Cut contents insurance by buying online

You could save as much as 35 per cent on your contents insurance by buying online, says MoneyExpert.com. The independent financial comparison website has said there is a price war in contents insurance, with average discounts at 13.7 per cent.

The average annual contents insurance premium is around £148, so consumers could be smiling if they qualify for a 35 per cent discount, as that could be worth more than £50. Consumers will have to shop around, though as only 18 per cent of home contents insurance providers offer discounts for online insurance purchases.

According to the financial comparison site, 78 of the 212 providers of standard home contents insurance offer consumers the opportunity to buy online, and around 38 offer discounts. Tesco offers a 35 per cent discount, and Churchill a 30 per cent discount. There are also discounts of 25 per cent from Saga, More Th>n and Halifax. These substantial savings could really be worth it for British consumers.
According to Sean Gardner, Money Expert’s chief executive, insurers can offer these large discounts to customers who purchase insurance online because of the reduced costs of processing online insurance. According to the financial comparison site, the average discount of 13.7 per cent makes online insurance purchase a sensible move for British consumers.

Mr Gardner adds:  ‘However it remains the case that buying contents insurance purely on the basis of the cheapest deal is not always the best advice. The biggest test of an insurance policy is always when it comes time to make a claim. We’d urge consumers to look carefully at the cover they need and make sure before they buy that there won’t be any nasty surprises when it is time to make a claim. If there’s also a discount for buying online then that’s a nice bonus.’