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Home insurance in Scotland
Scottish homeowners can actually feel rather aggrieved at what
has happened with their home insurance premiums recently. According
to Esure, which is an insurance provider, Scottish homeowners are
footing the bill for the flooding and subsidence problems south
of its border. The consequence of this is that you should spend
more time than normal finding the right insurer for your home if
you live in Scotland.
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Scotland is not at high risk from floods. Although there were some
floods in Edinburgh, Paisley and Perth, it remains low risk in Scotland
compared to England. Insurance
companies had to foot a £1.3bn bill last year from floods,
and to claw back their losses, they have raised premiums across
the board.
Subsidence problems have also caused costs to the insurance industry
to rise, but again this is mainly in England.
There is a massive clay belt in England
and the actual claims for subsidence damages are restricted mainly
to that area, yet Scottish consumers are seeing a raise in their
insurance premiums.
According to Esure, another problem is the way that insurers have
used a broad-brushed approach to rating areas of Scotland. So, rather
than using full postcodes to set premiums, they are setting similar
rates for large areas, for instance the whole of Glasgow. This means
that in areas where there is an enormous amount of variety in terms
of risk, like Glasgow, people who live in low risk areas are funding
insurance for those in high risk areas. This doesn’t happen
in London.
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Further research by HSBC bank suggests that Scottish people make
great neighbours, and this goes as far as helping each other lower
their home insurance premiums. If you know your neighbours well
enough to ask them to keep an eye on your house when you go away
you are less likely to come back to a break-in but you will find
it easier to save money when it comes to renewing your household
cover.
According to HSBS, 90% of people in Scotland know their neighbours
well, as opposed to less than 80% in England. Neighbourhood watch
schemes have always been found to be a very effective crime deterrent,
which is why your insurance
company will ask you if you a member of one.
On the negative side, the Association of British Insurers say that
storm damage and the freezing temperatures that often occur in Winter
have caused claims relating to burst pipes increase, and these can
be costly to put right.
Ultimately, if you live in Scotland you should find an insurer
who will rate your home fairly in terms of the risk involved in
insuring it. Rates may vary so you could save a lot by shopping
around.
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