Homeowners advised to check policy quality not just price

With the reported surge in applications for home insurance cover by households in areas potentially subject to flooding, Defaqto advises homeowners to check the quality of the cover on offer and not just settle for the cheapest quote.

Up until now, it would have been very difficult for people to check out the quality of the cover on offer from the hundreds of policies that are now available.

But with the arrival on Defaqto Compare! on find.co.uk, Defaqto’s sister internet portal, visitors to the site can readily see whether the policies they are interested in meet, exceed or fall short of the typical cover levels across a number of important features for buildings and contents insurance separately.

In order to compare products, Defaqto and find.co.uk have selected ten important cover criteria and identified typical levels of cover for each. Using a traffic light and road sign system for easy recognition, users are immediately able to see the quality of the policy for each of the criteria.

In the case of flooding, the cover level for alternative accommodation is probably the most important buildings insurance feature, especially with more rain forecast, while for contents insurance, contents in the open, and theft from outbuilding are all important covers.

The system allows two products to be compared at a time, showing clearly how each compares with the other and with the standard.

Brian Brown, Head of Insight at Defaqto, said, “I cannot stress strongly enough that price is only one of the factors to be taken into account when buying insurance products. If the floods have taught us anything it is that the quality of the cover is going to be paramount in these emergency situations. People using web comparison sites to get quotes should then check on www.find.co.uk to see if the products they are interested in offer the cover levels they need. For more extensive cover information, people should visit the providers’ website for full terms and conditions”