written by CPJDonaldson on 18/10/2023
My home insurance was due to renew and I wanted to cancel as my circumstances have changed. I've tried for two weeks to call them and after a minute or two with an automated person speaking to you, you get cut off. while on the call it tells you you can do everything on the app. But in the app it tells you to call them, so stuck in a loop! Avoid Sainsburys Home Insurance, might have been a good price at the time of taking out the policy, but it's impossible to speak to anyone. The claims side might be different. Previously happy customer until I've had to try and contact them.
written by Cheeveley on 04/08/2023
Impossible to log into my home insurance portal. I have wasted hours entering and re-entering details which it refuses to recognise. I changed from my previous insurer because I could not get an answer to phone calls. Amazingly, Sainsbury’s is even worse. I thought that Sainsbury’s good reputation would be a guarantee of good service- how wrong I was.
written by fkCarlson13 on 16/05/2023
Received an email from Sainsbury’s home insurance stating it was time to renew our policy.After phoning the telephone no. on their email wishing to speak to someone regarding our policy we waited almost 30 minutes before being answered by some department in Spain.The gentleman who took our call gave us another number to phone and after another wait our call was answered by the airline EasyJet.(You couldn’t make this up!!)Several more attempts were made to contact Customer services only to be put on hold and then cut off by the call handler mid call.In all we spent more than 3 hours on the phone trying to resolve certain issues with our policy to no avail.We have now decided to go elsewhere for our Home insurance.All in all an utterly shambolic service would definitely not recommend.
written by Madysonm1953 on 02/02/2023
I have been with them since 2006 and coincidentally was sectioned to a mental hospital the last time I considered changing a couple of years ago. I have paid between £45 and £65 for mainly compulsory building cover (I'm a leaseholder). I have mainly made claims for lost keys when they are covered, although for instance the last time I claimed a neighbour phoned for me - I'd lost my phone as well as my keys - and they said they would cover it and after a wait of a few hours someone came and later as I was told on the phone I was charged £25 excess. The next day or so I managed to find one piece of paper I'd received from them that happened to be the schedule and I saw that although I'd had missing key coverage the year before now I didn't have it. So, first of all, why not? Second, why wasn't I more aware of this - even though I appeared to have the schedule, I otherwise receive very little or nothing in the way of information from them either by post or by email. So, for instance, my policy renews in February automatically but I have no idea what it will include this year. If I had a letter from them I don't remember and have had no email notification - perhaps they have an old email address? Apart from keys I once got a handle on a window fixed and then tried to get a soffit fixed but was told I had already claimed too much with the window. My main complaint is the lack of information. No letters either I get from anyone these days have official stamps on them.
written by Badlytreated234 on 01/12/2022
I had a water pipe leak on my kitchen on monday, still waiting for emergency plumbers on thurs. nothing but lies from staff on phone lines, how they are on their way to fix leak, only for the plumbers to go sick, so cant make it. they must employ the most sickly plumbers in the country. When asked why they keep lying to me, the phone staff just say we're really sorry always the same answers and excuses,there is something really bad about sainbury's emergency insurance. I have cancer and really need to get my water back on, as after 3 days of leaking water and stinking toilets, I think its becoming a health hazard in my own home, all thanks to drive you in-sainsbury emergency home insurance
written by Stuee6 on 11/11/2022
Home insurance, been with them for 10 years. The portal is absolutely useless and the customer service are the worst I have ever had to deal with. Tried charging me £16 for cancelling a policy, 2 years ago and the awful person on the other end of phone would not accept that I had never cancelled a policy. It wasn't until I insisted she checked again that she realised it had been an error and written off. Every time you try to sign into your portal you have to wait for a code, which never turns up and if it does and you input it, it then says timed out. This I have noticed happens even when you want to do an online grocery shop, so we stopped shopping with them a long time ago. Sainsburys home insurance use to be very good but these past two years they have fallen off the edge of a cliff and now losing customers left right and centre. I have cancelled my policy and gone with another company. Even though Sainsburys were in the wrong, they tried to charge me £39 cancellation fee. I refused to pay it.
written by Simplythebest67 on 24/08/2022
I am absolutely disgusted with Sainsbury's. I contacted customer service, if that’s what you can even call it!! Due to me being very poorly I missed a direct debit payment, I spoke to them 4 times in a day. I asked if they could possibly wait one week for my payment. They had even sent me a text message saying that if you are experiencing difficulty to call them and they will help and sort out a payment plan or add the payment onto the next monthly payments. I asked the girl on the phone who she had spoken to to ask if they could help? Did she speak to someone on Teams? Her reply was “it’s none of your business!” Excuse me, I am the customer here, she kept over talking me and was extremely rude. Sainsbury's have not treated me fairly at all! They are cancelling my policy and I have even advised them of my circumstances. I asked to speak to a manager, the girl said well you can’t! I raised a complaint and I was told well it won’t be any good because you won’t get a reply for eight weeks and your policy will be cancelled today. Please do not take out a policy with Sainsbury’s. They do not have any customer care whatsoever! I came off the telephone and I was in tears from the way I had been treated and spoken too.
written by SarahBrennanSwann on 30/04/2022
Incredibly poor customer service. Problem remains unresolved due to a disorganised service and complete incompetence. Phoned and they couldn't even find our policy. Not even with policy number, direct debit instruction and email confirmation. Took about 6 separate phonecall and 3 hours on phone over 2 days to even log the claim. Call handlers mysteriously kept hanging up or call got lost during call transfers on the first set of calls which we made after work on a Friday. This was so frustrating ... Believe me, not my idea of a good time spending Friday night doing this. Presumably a strategic move since we were phoning after work on a Friday night and call handler didn't want to deal with it. 8 days later and still no action has been taken. Will appreciate it if someone gets back to us as incident results in us without a cooker which isn't ideal with very young children in the house needing nutritious meals cooking. If they don't sort it out, my intention will be to pay for it privately and put a claim in to Small Claims Court as we are covered for this by our policy so want all direct debits paid refunding back. Haven't needed to claim for anything in 25 years of home ownership but definitely won't be using Sainsburys again that's for sure!
written by McGraw334 on 01/03/2022
Dreadful delays on phone service. I wanted to change an item on renewal it would not let me do it on line. Numerous persons spoken to but never correct departments, was told by one that as policy began with an A she could not access it…. So she transferred me to Car Insurance. Can’t even cancel renewal on line have to call! As my father once said to me you only know how good your insurers are when you need them!!
written by 140McAllister on 10/01/2022
Absolutely appalling on all levels. Whatever you do, do not get insurance via Sainsburys Bank. Say they'll cover you, then casually decide not to Hold onto your money. Have an incapable customer service department All have a different opinion of their own T&Cs Have shocking relationships with their underwriters And waste huge proportions of your time. Despite having a question on their sign-up form of 'will you be undertaking building works', you selecting 'yes' and them congratulating you that they'll cover you and merrily taking your money in full. When you then call them to inform them the building works are starting, they then say they don't cover you. Annoying but not the end of the world as they say they'll refund you the remainder of your policy given they are unable to provide the insurance service for you, and you'll be waived the cancellation fee. Cheque is on it's way to you... happy days. SIX MONTHS & 10 x 1.5 hour phone calls later, (prepare for call wait times of 40 minutes each time with the same one ghastly song playing over and over) still no cheque, and no customer service representative has any idea of previous conversations. Nor any authority to do anything. Nor can they access the call recordings they supposedly use for training purposes. I can assure you the grand total of ZERO training occurs at Sainsburys Bank. They then cheekily write a letter saying they've decided to close the policy six months later but you must pay them £25 for the privilege and no refund. I wish zero stars was an option .
written by amq0609 on 29/11/2021
Recently took out a Home Buildings and Contents Insurance policy but unfortunately ended up with two policies (one with previous insurer and one with Sainsburys). My previous insurer asked me to send a questionnaire to Sainsburys so that between them they can provide a suitable refund. No response from Sainsburys and when I tried to call the contact centre on two separate occasions they hung up as soon as they answered the call (having waited each time 15 to 30 mins). To raise a complaint about the poor response from the Call Centre the number listed to call is the very same number I am complaining about and there is no option to direct the call to the Complaints Department. The only option left is to write to the same address as the address given to send the questionnaire which they never responded to the first time round. Avoid this company like the plague.
written by Salmonins on 25/10/2021
Been on telephone hold for 6 days trying to pay them money for my renewal!! No answer on any of their contact numbers and no email so i cannot pay, God help you if you have to make a claim. I have now been uninsured for 2 days cos they do not communicate. I'm paying more money to go elsewhere and suggest you do the same..
written by AnabellaMcClellan on 02/08/2021
I rarely write reviews but my experience with Sainsbury’s home insurance has been awful. Despite being with them for several years, I have not claimed but over the past year I have needed to claim twice - an outside water leak and electrical problems. Useless phone and text assurances from contractors about the progress of the claim. Would not cover the water costs but it took 2 and a half months of constant chasing 2 contractors to establish this. On the second occasion, they failed to recognise that my insurance covered emergencies- made me pay £114 upfront for an emergency electrician who never arrived. Will not be renewing my claim next year even if it costs me more elsewhere and would strongly advise others to avoid Sainsbury’s home insurance.
written by SainsburysSlaveToTheirSystem on 09/06/2020
Just received an email to tell me that my home insurance will be £30 more than I paid last year. Oh and Sainsbury's will be taking my money 5 days before the renewal date whether I like it or not. There are no instructions in the email to tell me how to stop this from happening and no way to reply by (free) email. On top of that, there's no information on their website about how to stop the renewal and no way of contacting apart from phoning them- and being charged for the privilege! This is totally disgraceful corporate behaviour. Check out their 2019 Modern Slavery Statement: "We understand our duty to respect human rights, we are committed to identifying vulnerable workers and we will not tolerate any form of slavery or servitude in our business or supply chains". What an absolute joke! They are making me a slave to their system and making me pay for it. Please avoid their insurance at all costs!!! Don't let them trap you with modern day slavery.
written by DSTel on 25/06/2019
The Home insurance is automatically renewed and I have spent 20 minutes on the phone trying to cancel it. I was told it is part of the Insurance deal that they automatically renew and all you receive is an email to let you know they are taking the money.
written by FrankieStokes407 on 16/10/2018
I have been a customer of Sainsburys home Insurance for several years and have never made a claim with them or any previous insurer, but the recent treatment I received from them is so bad I think I need to let others know.
written by Lolamai on 18/01/2018
Tiles have slipped my roof,when, I did not know until rain came through my2 bedroom ceiling. I have been nearly six weeks trying to sort it out, They deal with a 3rd party called Consortium who decide what you pay for and what you don't. I have ended up paying for almost everything In the first instance they declined my claim, I got back to Sainsbury's and was told that they had to get advice concerning the policy as they didn't know all the facts, they overturned the decision and said they aren't responsible for damage to the roof but quote "for anything under the tiles. I would have to pay for the removal and replacement of the tiles and they would pay for the removal of a rotten rafter and the replacement of a new one. They told me on the phone that they would pay for a scaffold but then changed their mind and said that as I had to pay for tiles to be removed and replaced, I would have to pay half towards it as I needed to use it also. The policy states they will pay for removal of rubbish and cleaning up the site but they say I will have to pay half as half the rubbish is mine. Felting and new struts have to be replaced but they say I am responsible because it' deemed part of the roof. They will only be responsible from the loft down. Have you ever heard of anything so petty. They state in the advertisement that your building includes your roof, walls, windows etc. Don't believe them, they will say anything to avoid paying. They also want me to pay the whole amount up front. When their surveyor is not allowed to get up a ladder, he has a camera on a pole, this is not allowed because of Health Safety rules. How on earth can they determine what damage has been caused if they can't see under the tiles. Well I'm sure after reading my review you can come to the right decision.
written by hellsbell on 06/12/2017
I wish i read the reviews first over a month starting the contents insurance cover and many phone calls i got a statement of fact and noticed a mistake. By then it passed a month and would cost £15 to change it or £25 to cancel then the girl kept asking me to repeat over and over again i just hung up not fit for purpose all this time i was uninsured if i had the notes straight away like you are supposed to it would of been nice to read them
written by Lynettea on 15/11/2017
Would like to leave no stars. Took out and paid in full car insurance on 7th November. when paperwork arrived by email the start date was incorrect so i called immediately. The person was extremely rude and unhelpful and said he could not ammend the date. I decided it did not bode well if the customer service was this bad now what would it be like if i had an actual accident. I cancelled the policy and asked for a refund which I was told would take 3/5 days. After a week I called as no sign of the refund to be told that the refund had not been put through. I asked to speak to a manager who could not tell me why the payment had not been made but she would ensure it was done that day. She then called me back and said as I had waited over a week already she would do a same day bank transfer if I provided my bank details. 2 days later still no sign of the refund. I called this morning to speak to the same manager and no surprise she was in a meeting but I was assured I would be called back in an hour. 1 hour 15 minutes later still no call back so called again. The manager from monday would still not take my call so was put through to a third manager. Apparently the payment was not made on Monday like promised but she will ensure it is done today. No confidence at all that this will happen. AVOID AVOID AVOID. I am over £250 out of pocket as had to pay another insurer also to get cover while Sainsbury sits on my money.
written by on 24/03/2017
I rang up to cancel my policy as my renewal figure had increased by £90 over the year. I explained I was cancelling it and all I heard was a groan from the lady advisor - I wasn't sure if she was more than happy to deal with my cancellation or if she truly was disappointed a customer was leaving. She then pursued asking why I wanted to cancel my policy and I explained I had been given cheaper quotes, she asked for my new quotes which was £25:00 cheaper each month and said 'ok I will cancel the policy - it's up for renewal on the 27th and you have paid your dd this month - you are in arearers so therefore you owe us nothing'. I was appalled - there was no empathy shown by this lady, no trying to retain my business and the words she used made you feel as if you are in the 'red' with your payments. I understand how insurance policies work however, the dialogue and customer service skills shown were not great. Please look for other providers - after reading reviews now I agree this isn't a good company to deal with I only wish I had seen the statements before I took out my policy - there are some great companies that offer a much better service at a better price and I'm sure that's all a decent customer expects and wants from any company.
Once we've checked over your question we will put it live on the site and our strong community of experts will hopefully give you some great answers that you find useful.
We will email you when the question is on the site
Once we've checked over your answer we will put it live on the site so others can gain from your experience. We rely on members like you to sustain our vibrant community so thanks again, we couldn't do it without you.
We will email your when your answer is on the site
As rated by our community of reviewers