Insurance companies disappearing

[-rick-]

This is not strictly a self build thing but I've just received a letter about my house insurance telling me Aviva have taken over my insurer. So far so routine, except this is the 3rd time in 3 or 4 years where I've got a letter saying Aviva is taking over my insurer. So that's three separate insurers that have now been absorbed by Aviva.

 

So that's Barclays, M+S Bank, Churchill, all gone. Apparently, Churchill were part of Direct Line and it's Aviva buying Direct Line that caused the latest letter.

 

Is competition disappearing from the home insurance market? Every time Aviva have taken over the renewal quote was at least double what I was paying before.

[Redbeard]

2 hours ago, -rick- said:

Every time Aviva have taken over the renewal quote was at least double what I was paying before.

 

... and logic does not necessarily seem to apply, anyway. I moved to Churchill as the renewal premium from the last insurer was silly-high. After 2 years with Churchill the price creep was not insignificant. I looked on Compare the Market. The best balance of cover and cost (not  identical cover, but v close) came from the company I'd left 2 years before because of their silly-high quote!                              

[-rick-]

18 minutes ago, Redbeard said:

The best balance of cover and cost ... came from the company I'd left 2 years before because of their silly-high quote!

 

The annoying game of luring in customers who are then too lazy to move. I'm one of those customers, if the bump was 20% I may well swallow it rather than faff around finding another company but when the quotes come in 2x that motivates me to move.

 

Feels like there is an opportunity for a company to come out and market on the basis 'we aren't the cheapest but you'll always get the our best price and we don't play games with you', but I'm not aware of anyone who does that.

 

If Aviva is swallowing up all the competition, soon enough there won't be enough competing quotes to make moving make sense.

[Gone West]

The FCA banned dual pricing at the start of 2022

Insurers are no longer allowed to charge renewing customers any more than they would charge a new customer for the same policy.

https://www.cuvva.com/how-insurance-works/dual-pricing-insurance-fca