When I were a lad nobody in the street had a cat.
But the bath always was filled using a kettle for hot water and a jug for cold. The clothes horse hung with washing shielded us from draughts and the insurance man who always called on Fridays and never knocked.
Nobody ever did.
I remember the first time I saw a sponge. It had to be a natural one though, no fancy coloured synthetic ones then.
Mary
Which is why they should have contingency arrangements to cover it.
A lot of businesses operate on a flexing basis where they bring in additional subcontracted assistance when needed.
I disagree. It's perfectly possible to do it. The issue is materials, logistics and cost.
Cost is then reflected into the pricing of the service product. It is perfectly possible to have a service business which will deliver a response without treating some customers as second class citizens when all have paid the same. The solution is to have different levels of service at different price points.
That is an excuse. I have a very simple principle regarding sale and purchase of goods and services. That is to say what you are going to do and then deliver on it. If I am providing a product or a service, then I make it clear to the customer what I am guaranteeing to provide and also explain to them if there are and where there are risks. Those are discussed and agreed. If I don't deliver on what I have said I will do, then of course I expect to compensate the customer in some way.
I don't expect any lower standard when I am buying a product or service. When I do so, I often ask the supplier whether they are sure about their commitments, so that they have the opportunity to rephrase or change my expectations.
However... after that, if they don't deliver on their commitments I absolutely expect some form of compensation, reminding them that they have not done what they said that they would do.
It's not a case of complaining or of screaming unreasonably, just one of proper business practice.
I always treat people politely, but I don't let this become an excuse for poor service.
My issue with BG is that they don't deliver what their advertising implies.
I don't expect things to always go perfectly. In fact, I think that it is a good test of a supply/service organisation if something does go wrong, because then I know how good they are at fixing it.
The correct ethic in a service business is to fix the problem *and* make sure that the customer is happy as well.
Are those the ones that say: "Do not fold, spindle or mutilate" on the outside?
I most certainly did not mean that people should give up on buildings insurance. The worst case claim is unaffordable for everyone.
Only very large companies and governments can afford to self insure their property.
and often contents too.
Is has tripled in the last 5 years dues to Blames Direct and other ambulance chasers. Mine is now five hundred a year for me and a helper.
but if it is needed the claim would be unmeetable from one's own
I was trying to point out that the building and liability (and 3rd part aspect of vehicle) insurance are essential at the one end of the spectrum whilst the other end is an expensive way of being sold 'peace of mind'. This is even more expensive when it does not deliver.
It might be that buying the insurance cover combined works out quite a bit cheaper. However the contents insurance is about in the middle of the spectrum of types of insurance. It will need some careful thought.
What type of loss is likely to occur are you more prone or less than the typical policy holder. e.g. If you don't smoke, don't do deep frying and the electrics and boiler are up to scratch the chance of having a fire is very very much less then the average. Does your insurance broker take this on board?
type of loss.
1) loss of portable items. 2) Damage 3) Theft. 4) Flood. 5) fire.Risk factors: The relative security of your home compared to the post code average.
Personal finance: Are you debt or do you have a rainy day find. Can you recover from a total loss.
Specific valuable items: You don't have anything except the necessary household items: OR You have some very valuable items - are they covered or excluded or do they load the premium?
Read the section about Ebay in the BoilerChoice FAQ.
Exactly....
Sorry - I thought it was obvious that I wasn't being _completely_ serious.
Is that PL only or PL+PI? PI will be high for any trade with the risks of flooding or exploding.
Ten quid a week isn't bad - British gas charge £25 a month for covering one household boiler/pipes/drains/electrics.
Owain
No it's me. I tend to take things rather straight at times. I've even fallen into a few trollish traps before now.
Yes, and we found that insurance companies won't even consider atypical conditions.
We don't smoke, nor does anyone else who comes to the house, we don't deep fry (although I occasionally flambe but it's brief and very well under control!) and everything is well up to scratch. We've never been asked about any of those things. We were once asked if we had locks on ground floor windows. Because the windows are not opening ones I had to say that we hadn't, we weren'tconsidered.
None of those would really affect us. We wouldn't care about the loss of material things, the essential ones (which aren't many) are easily replaced. Personal items - sentimental if you like, such as letters, photographs and paintings (not Old Masters!), are irreplaceable and no amount of money would compensate for their loss.
Our property is very secure. But the post code average varies too. Unless you have what thieves want it doesn't matter whether you live in a high or low crime area. That's not considered.
We have no debts. We have funds to rebuild the house if we want to - and would enjoy doing it.
Yes.
That's true.
We have nothing with any monetary value.
I've replied for us, the Fishers. We're odd. Everyone's different. And our experience is that insurance companies don't take differences into consideration.
Because of our postcode it would cost about £800/pa to insure buildings and contents. It's not worth it - to us.
Nevertheless, as always, Ed, your post was thoughtful and sound.
Mary
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