We have seen eye-wateringly low locum insurance premiums in the past few weeks which, in our view, are simply not economically viable.
I was pondering this when I went to a networking meeting the other day and spoke to someone about his commercial buildings insurance. He shopped around at the last renewal and moved to one of the cheapest providers he could find. He liked the premium, was signed up quickly and all went swimmingly until he had to claim.
That’s when he came unstuck.
There was no support, no response from the provider, phone calls not returned. In the end, he had to go to the Ombudsman.
Now that everything has died down and his claim was – finally – paid, his policy is again due for renewal. His view? ‘It doesn’t matter what it costs, I’m going back to my previous broker.’
So, having heard what my networking friend said, maybe it’s time to consider a quote from art critic, philanthropist and social thinker John Ruskin:
“It is unwise to pay too much. But it is worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money; that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do.”
Worth bearing in mind, when you’re offered a premium that looks too good to be true?
Author: Lynda Cox, November 2012
The opinions presented in this blog are solely those of the author on behalf of Practice Cover Limited and they do not constitute individual advice.
