What to Look for in a Competitive Insurance Provider 

It’s easy to get overwhelmed when shopping around for insurance, and it can be tempting to let monthly premiums be the determining factor.

But this is more often than not a mistake.

As with most things in life, finding the right insurance is all about striking the right balance – in the case of insurance, that means funding the policy with the right price, coverage, and customer support. Working with a broker like Clegg Gifford can take much of this legwork off your hands, as their contacts and network can help you weigh the variables and find the best deal currently on the market.

And it shouldn’t be forgotten that other variables also come into play when purchasing any type of insurance – the quality of the underwriters used, price stability and the insurance company’s reputation.

Ready to understand how to weigh these variables? 

Find out below.

Comprehensive Coverage

You might find a policy with a great price, but if it doesn’t cover everything you need, it’s not really providing great value for money.

Equally, if it covers you for what you need but has important exclusions or carve-outs under certain conditions, you have to be careful to ensure the policy is the financial backstop you believe it to be.

With this in mind, you should pore over the policy’s optional extras, cover limits, exclusions, and excesses before plumping for an insurance provider.

Price Stability

Some insurers offer great rates for a limited period – the first year of the policy, say – only for premiums to rise sharply once the honeymoon period ends.

As such, the price stability of the policy is something you should pay close attention to.

Watch out for ‘new customer’ inducements – lower premiums for the first year (20–50% is common) –  and other new customer-only pricing in its promotional material.

Underwriters

Your insurance company will use an underwriter who will defray the costs of any claim you make on the policy.

This means that you need to pay attention to the quality and grading of the underwriter used by the insurer.

That’s because a robust underwriter is more likely to pay out fully on a claim, remain stable during large claim events, and not withdraw quickly from the insurance market.

You should look for one that uses an underwriter that has been awarded a strong rating from a ratings agency such as AM Best, Fitch, Moody’s or S&P Global.

Claims

In the event you actually have to draw on a policy, you need to know that you will be covered for what you have insured and will have your claim assessed fairly and in a timely fashion.

This means when shopping around for an insurer, you need to check out a prospective insurer for the following:

• Its claim acceptance rates
• Its average settlement times
• Its claim-handling reviews
• Whether claims are dealt with in-house or outsourced

Conclusion

Finding an insurance provider that ticks all the boxes can be tricky, and when you look beyond simple price, you have to weigh a lot of factors. Taking the time to assess coverage, price stability, underwriter quality and claims handling will put you in a much stronger position to find a policy that genuinely delivers.