123.ie home insurance renewal - caveat emptor

ClubMan

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Just received our annual home insurance renewal notice from 123.ie and I noticed that the cover provided had been increased slightly, as had the premium and also included was a €15 "broker charge". I went to their website and selected the same level of cover as if I was a new customer and the premium came out about €30 lower. Worth noting when your renewal comes around and may be relevant to other brokers/underwriters and their automatically issued renewal notices.
 
I would always check the web for quotes from my insurance companies at renewal time.

Interestingly enough, I got a great quote for home insurance through 123.ie for AXA, but when I went to AXA with the quote, they told me that 123.ie do not use that actual AXA and that certain things may not be all that they seem. I was frightened off by that statement and went elsewhere!
 
Agreed - I always shop around but 123 were still the best value for the level of cover that we needed and even more so when I checked as a "new" customer rather than a renewing one.

What do you mean by "that actual AXA"? My renewal included some form from AXA and it looked like the real one. In any case the terms & conditions of the insurance policy clarify what's covered and what's not and it all looks fine to me.
 
123.ie get the thumbs down from me :(

They delayed our mortgage by 2 weeks and thankfully the vendor didn't mind waiting otherwise we could of lost the house due to them. We rang them every day and go tot know all the operators who answer the phones and we were given a different story every day, except for 1 operator who told us the truth straight away.

Cheap price CAN sometimes mean cheapness in service in my experience with 123.ie

BUYER BEWARE, but I hope if you go with them they serve you better than I.

Next year I will phone each of the companies directly and get the best price with the best cover myself.

Previous experience with a mortgage broker :mad: (basically wasted nearly 6weeks of our time with delays, excuses and generally shoddy work) should of taught me to stay away from brokers, but I have learnt now...
 
They delayed our mortgage by 2 weeks
How come? When you apply online the cover starts from the date specified and you just have to pay them to make sure that this happens.
and thankfully the vendor didn't mind waiting otherwise we could of lost the house due to them.
Really? Why could you not simply have gone to another insurer and taken cover immediately? Why did you persist with them if you were having problems arranging the cover?
 
Sorry, when I said that actual AXA, I mean the one based in Ireland, AXA Insurance Ltd. The one you get quotes from on 123.ie are not from AXA Insurance Ltd, but another AXA, don't know the full details because I didn't go into it with her. She just said warned me off, which worked, and I used neither of them.
 
I would always check the web for quotes from my insurance companies at renewal time.

Interestingly enough, I got a great quote for home insurance through 123.ie for AXA, but when I went to AXA with the quote, they told me that 123.ie do not use that actual AXA and that certain things may not be all that they seem. I was frightened off by that statement and went elsewhere!

123.ie don't use AXA Ireland, but AXA UK. Unfortunately you were misinformed. Despite what you may have been previously advised, all of our administration, including claims, is handled in Dublin.

Clubman - Dropped you a PM.
 
123.ie don't use AXA Ireland, but AXA UK. Unfortunately you were misinformed. Despite what you may have been previously advised, all of our administration, including claims, is handled in Dublin.

Clubman - Dropped you a PM.

Slight contradiction in your first and second sentence? If your first sentence was correct, then I was informed correctly by AXA Insurance Ltd when I called them.

Why do you use AXA UK, and not AXA Ireland then? I am presuming it's price, but what are the differences in the policies both offer.
123.ie quoted me two hundred and something euro (AXA)
AXA Insurance Ltd quoted me three hundred and something. How can they justify the two massive prices, if they are both offering the same policies?

G
 
From previous experience underwriters can quote higher premiums than brokers for the same or similar cover. I found this with Royal & Sun Alliance direct versus via the AA a few years back. Ultimately what matters is the terms & conditions of the policy and that they suit your needs for a price that you are happy with. For the moment I'm happy with 123/AXA (UK) based on the policy document and premium quoted but I'm just confused as to why the renewal premium would be higher than the premium quoted as if I was a new customer. Note that the difference was not as high as I originally suggested as it happens - a difference of c. €15 albeit with an additional €2.5K contents cover for the cheaper premium!
 
I'd like to take this opportunity to explain a little about 123.ie and our Home Insurance offering. Please don't take this as an advert for 123.ie or a criticism of AXA Ireland. They provide an excellent home insurance policy and their motor policy is one of the best on the market.

Our home insurance product is underwritten by AXA (UK) part of the AXA Group of companies which includes AXA Ireland. Our policy was written by us and has no connection with AXA Ireland. The UK and Irish companies are different companies and as such can and do compete for business. One reason we deal with the UK is that we are not subject to any local pressures due to existing relationships.
As Clare points out, claims are handled here in Ireland by a third part claims handling company which also happens to handle claims for some of the larger Irish Insurance companies.

If you were to ask AXA Ireland about a product offered by AXA UK their response might reasonably be the same had you asked them about RS&A, Allianz, Hibernian or Quinn Direct. We are directly competing with AXA Ireland.

As an analogy, how might Mercedes Ireland react if you suggested to them that you could go to Mercedes in the UK to buy your new car ?

We do have a letter of apointment from AXA Ireland and in fact have an excellent relationship with them, we sell AXA Ireland Motor policies.

As regards renewal premiums, we do charge a €15 admin fee at renewal time. Our rates are extremely competitive in part because our margins are so low. Of course, if you're unhappy with anything we do, please tell us ! We want you to go away happy with the service we offer. If you're not, then I want to know about it which is why Clare keeps an eye on relevant threads here at AskAboutMoney.

ClubMan mentioned that his cover and premium had increased at renewal. It is market practice to increase sums insured at renewal to provide some degree of index linking. Rebuilding costs have increased in excess of inflation in recent years and it's important for you to have adequate levels of cover. Having said that, it's your policy, if you don't feel the need to increase cover, you don't have to.

I'd really welcome any further comments, good or bad, about 123.ie and what we do.

Geoff Boyle
Director - 123.ie
 
ClubMan mentioned that his cover and premium had increased at renewal. It is market practice to increase sums insured at renewal to provide some degree of index linking. Rebuilding costs have increased in excess of inflation in recent years and it's important for you to have adequate levels of cover. Having said that, it's your policy, if you don't feel the need to increase cover, you don't have to.
Yes - but my substantive point was that for the same (actually slightly higher) level of cover on the same terms I was able to get a cheaper quote by going online as if I was a new customer compared to the renewal premium quoted to me in the letter from 123. The difference was about €15 (c. 6% discount on the renewal premium) which is, perhaps coincidentally or perhaps not, the same as the additional "broker fee" charge which was added to the renewal premium and which was not explicitly mentioned when I originally took out the policy last. Some people might consider this slightly sharp practice. At the very least I consider it something worth warning others about. On the other hand perhaps you or Clare have a reasonable explanation? At the moment I have two letters -one with the renewal premium of €237.14 (including €15 broker fee) and one with a new business premium (for slightly higher contents cover) for €222.57 - a difference of €14.57. Obviously it's a no brainer which one I will choose if I do renew with 123.
 
Cheap price CAN sometimes mean cheapness in service in my experience with 123.ie

BUYER BEWARE, but I hope if you go with them they serve you better than I.

I'm in the process of taking out a home insurance policy with 123.ie. So far I've found them very efficient in all my dealings with them... e.g. responding to e-mails within 1 hour, only 4 mins holding to speak to a rep...etc

I've now parted with money for the policy - hopefully their good service won't disappear now that they have their hands on my cash!

I suppose I should stress that I have no connection whatsoever with the company and only chose them based on their price and level of cover. For what I required they were coming in approx €100 cheaper than other brokers...

Time will tell if I have made a sound choice, but so far so good...
 
Geoff,

Thanks for taking the time to explain that. I only wish I had known at the time of getting my home insurance. AXA Ireland in the words they used put me off buying my insurance with 123.ie, but I suppose I know where to look next year.

Thanks

G
 
What i heard was that AXA UK bought a company who had an existing relationship to cover 123.ie house insurance policies. When AXA bought this company they then became underwriters of these policies. AXA Ireland were never involved.

I've got one of these policies myself but should I make a claim I know there's no point in ever going near an AXA office in Ireland.
 
just after making my first claim with 123.ie.very helpfull on the phone the lady is sending out form to me to day to fill in,i will see how it goes and will let you know
 
my home insurance is up on 22/10 and I am now going to try and find the best offer. Currently Hibernian through One Direct. No renewal notice yet. will report when I have a few quotes.
 
Different company, but similar issue. I recently added an expensive item (> €7k) to my all risks policy.

Additional premium charged, which was fine, but also charged €25 for 'administration'!

Made several calls but despite promises no one got back to me, eventually wrote and told broker I would be voting with my feet at next renewal date if they didn't respond. Charge refunded that day; happy customer.

But....what is really getting to me these days is that not a day seems to go by where I don't have to chase, ring, follow up, email or write to someone about some incorrect charge, over-charging, mistake or whatever you're having yourself.

Today's one is my mortgage company applying a new rate 2 weeks before the expiry of my fixed rate; still waiting on that one to be sorted.

Am I just getting old and cantankerous or are companies these days relying on consumer inertia to make their money?
 
still waiting for 123.ie insurance to send out form,she told me on the phone that she was going to send it straight away,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,still waiting
 
Shopped around as usual before renewal in September and, after a bit of haggling, www.simplymortgages.ie offered the best quote for the level of cover that suited our specific needs and 123.ie could not match/better it (in spite of their radio ads claiming that they would!) and were charging a higher premium for a lower level of cover so bye bye 123.ie for this year at least.
 
renewal today from one direct/hibernian-€395. Minimum * all risks. quote from 123 with €5500 all risks around €371.
* mrs cu refuses to leave engagement ring into valuers overnight hence we have only every been able to cover it with specified items which fall under the limit cover for such items without a valuation.

:) Kildrought: couldn't agree more. my best case so far is having 4 competely different p21's for the years 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. In total 16 p21 end of year balances for 4 years. And the income figures etc are unchanged on them all. its how the allowances are allocated that changes the calculations.

for what its worth 123 now use Eagle Star for their home insurance policys not Axa.
 
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