Home Insurance - Are older folks being ripped off?

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bravo

Registered User
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Hi Guys,

This question is prompted by my elderly fathers experience. He got a renewal from Allianze - buildings 200,000, contents 30,000 - €270.

Not being computer literate (one of many thousands of elderly folks) he asked me to have a look online. The best quote came from 123.ie at €168 for exactly the same cover.

Rang Allianze - told they couldn't match it but if I used their website I could get it for €186.

Can anyone make sense of this carry-on. Is it just rip-off for the computer illiterate? I know online is always cheaper, but the same company, and staff telling you to go to their website and not being able to discount manually.
 
bravo said:
Can anyone make sense of this carry-on. Is it just rip-off for the computer illiterate? I know online is always cheaper, but the same company, and staff telling you to go to their website and not being able to discount manually.
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Not necessarily a rip-off. The lower premium could simply reflect the lower costs of doing business online than through other channels. As ever people should shop around more widely than just their current insurer and should read the terms & conditions of the policy and not just the premium figure when choosing the cover that is appropriate to their specific needs. And don't assume that most or all older people are necessarily computer illiterate. Plenty of them use computers regularly.
 
Is it elderly folks or computer illiterate you are concerned for? They are not the same.

I've gotten my car insurance through AA (not online) for the last 3 years, much cheaper than any online quote I've ever seen (including like for like comparisons) - are the online insurers all attempting to rip ME off because I'm computer literate?
 
Thanks for the replies guys,

No I don't assume older folks in general are " computer illiterate". I am explaining the case of my father, who happens to be one "of the thousands" who can't avail of online offers.

The post is pointing to the huge saving that those not online may not even be aware of. I don't think a price difference of €100 for exactly the same product (identical t&c's) can be justified and the overheads argument doesn't hold up in this instance.

Of course there are deals to be got by conventional means, but I'm looking at one particular case, and the circumstances surrounding it.
 
bravo said:
I am explaining the case of my father, who happens to be one "of the thousands" who can't avail of online offers.
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But he did in the end didn't he?
The post is pointing to the huge saving that those not online may not even be aware of. I don't think a price difference of €100 for exactly the same product (identical t&c's) can be justified and the overheads argument doesn't hold up in this instance.
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Access to the internet is hardly a privilege these days. Even many (most?) libraries have free internet access and provide assistance to those who are new to it.
 
Plus they can do what the OP did and get a family member or friend to do it for them.
 
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