WHEN mum-of-two Karen Simpson received her house insurance renewal quote she was staggered by the £158 annual increase.
The 42 year old business owner from Inverness, Scotland has been paying £360 but now her new bill was quoted at £517 per year.
Despite house insurance prices rising, the average cost has jumped 11% in the last year, the mum wanted to find a way to cut her bill.
She tried using a comparison site – but she was quoted a similar amount.
Karen said: “I always know I can get things cheaper but when the comparison site came back with a similar cost, I was really thrown.”
The former primary school teacher who founded My Primary and Secondary Tutor has been using AI with her business and so she decided to try out ChatGPT to cut her bill.
Karen said: “AI is a brilliant resource but it’s only as useful as the information you give it.
“I asked it if I was asking the right comparison sites and if I had missed any.
“I asked it for suggestions on how to get the cost down and the type of things I could say to my insurer when I spoke to them.”
After inputting everything into ChatGpt, it suggested she should look at her quotes to see if they were like for like, for example, was the excess the same.
It also suggested Karen take her excess into consideration when looking at bringing the cost of her premium down.
Karen explained: “It asked me to think about how likely it would be that I would make a claim and if her priority was a low excess or a lower premium.
“It directed me to all the options so I can make an informed decision and it took just a few minutes to do.”
Armed with the prompts and pointers Karen amended the information she put into the comparison websites and found herself a better deal of £327.19, a saving of £180.
She decided to increase her excess by £50 to achieve this saving – it was a very small tweak.
Of course, increasing your excess means you will have to pay extra if you need to make a claim.
This isn’t the first time that Karen has turned to AI to help bring the cost of her bills down.
She said: “There is no such thing as customer loyalty and the first thing I do is turn off the automatic renewals when I change provider.
KAREN’S TOP TIPS
KAREN shares her top tips for cutting bills
Make sure you turn off the automatic renewal on every new policy or contract you take out. This will stop you missing the great big hikes in costs.
Moving policies around is easy and speedy these days so no one should think it’s time consuming.
You will always be able to save between £50 and £100 by switching.
Use AI to help you if you’re feeling overwhelmed about a decision you’re trying to make, it will help you cut through the noise.
If you don’t know what you should write into AI to get help to get the cost down, simply write: “I want to save money on my home insurance what do I need to tell you to help me get the cost down?”
Double check everything AI tells you, as you can’t trust it entirely.
“If you’re busy you might miss the renewal date and then you won’t notice your policy has gone up.
“People think it’s a hassle and time consuming to switch but it’s not.”
When her and her husband’s car insurances were up for renewal Karen turned to AI for help.
Going through the same process as she did with the house insurance Karen saved both £100 each on both cars, and reduced her broadband by half.
She was paying nearly £50 a month with her original provider and now she’s paying £24.99 with Vodafone.
Karen said: “I’ve saved around £500 on policies and contracts, it’s absolutely worth doing and using AI is a really good way of helping to guide you through the process.”
SHOULD YOU LOWER YOUR EXCESS?
Increasing your excess on your insurance for some might be a smart way to lower your premiums but it comes with risks and it’s important to know what those are.
Understand the trade-off – a higher excess means lower premiums, but you’ll pay more if you need to make a claim.
Choose an amount you can afford – only increase your excess to an amount you could comfortably pay if you need to at short notice.
Consider your claim history – if you rarely claim, a higher excess could be worth it as you’ll benefit from lower premiums but if you claim often you may pay more in the long run.
Hidden costs – always read the small print to ensure you’re still get the protection you need as some insurers may reduce coverage or add extra conditions if you go with a higher excess.
Contrast and compare – different insurers offer different excess options so make sure you shop around to find a deal that’s right for you and your needs.
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