AGR       Lloyds TSB House Insurance                                                    16 January 2007

When I moved from Clowns back to Nottingham, I arranged the interim finance through my bank, Lloyds TSB.  The manager I spoke to asked me if I had arranged the insurance for the 'new' house.  I replied "Oops, I totally forgot about that".  He then asked me if I'd like him to put me on immediate cover.  I replied "YES most definitely".  He probably got a bit of commission on that sale, but should something have happened to the house before I remember to get it ensured, it would have been devastating.

Nothing unusual so far.  The premium seemed to be about the average.  But last year we had a flood.  The details are complicated, but Lloyds arranged for a local firm, that I can only call "a disaster contractor".  They moved in and installed dehumidifiers and took away the furniture that had been damaged by the flood.  They left the hardwood sideboard, but removed all the chipboard items.  Chipboard, as you may know, falls to pieces when it gets wet.

They lifted all the carpets and arranged with Allied Carpets to fit new ones.  The only thing I did myself was to get a contractor to re-lay a bit of concrete floor where the pool of water had affected the building oversite.  The bill for the "disaster contractor" and Allied Carpets was paid direct from the bank.  My bill for the builder and the purchase of new chipboard furniture was paid straight into my bank.  The contractor arranged for a French Polisher to 'repair' the glaze on the hardwood sideboard.  I reckon I made a small profit on that disaster.  The quality of the new carpets was far superior to the old ones.

A week or so later I spoke to a local woman copper re a neighbourhood watch matter, and I mentioned my satisfaction with Lloyds TSB.  She replied that she too insured with Lloyds, and that a few month ago she had lightning strike her house and it wrecked almost everything electrical.  She said that Lloyds coughed up on the nail.

Perhaps I am a bit of a cynic as I remember stories from my family about insurance companies before the war.  They examined the small print in detail and they haggled over every last item.  But when I get approached by other insurers I say that I had such a good experience with Lloyds TSB, that I wouldn't consider any other insurer, they just lose interest in me.

There's two maxims to remember: You find out how good an insurer is when you make a claim, and that principle applies to every company.  Look at my story on Skills Coaches when they had a problem in Belgium.