written by on 27/04/2010
I went with Saga last year for our house insuranceas their premiums were very competitive - this year up 43 yes 43%. I cannot find anyone in their so called customer service dept who can explain the difference. I cannot work out what customer services is all about as all they can say is we need to speak to the agent who orignally sold the insurance but they don't keep a record on your file of who he is!!!
Had I known how their system works I probably would not have gone with them - god knows how they deal with a claim! Funnily enough when I took out the policy I was told their service is superb and their cover wonderful - what exactly are they comparing themselves to?
written by on 09/03/2010
To be avoided, for a company that targets the over 50's you would expect some idea of the problems that older people may have. My 87 year old father had a fire which meant that his house couldn't be lived in. He has a starlift & other modifications at home that I don't have. It proved impossible for him to live with me unless I was there 24/7. Their ideas of 'reasonable' accomodation for him was to put him in an hotel, in effect for him a comfortable prison. THey couldn't see anything wrong with this & refused to even consider short term accomodation in a residential home, even though the maximum they would pay out for temporary accomodation is £100,000. Had I had time I think this could have been challenged successfully, but you don't have time in this situation. I eventualy found him somehwre to live, but with no help from the company. Avoid like the plague. I've only given a star here because you can't submit it without!!
written by on 01/02/2010
Everything seems fine (although by no means the cheapest) until you come to make a claim. The claims number is nowhere to be found (though there are plenty of numbers if ou want to take out additional insurance) - they seem to have forgotten what insurance is actually for. I was eventually transferred to an agency who promised to send out the papers. A week later they rang to say that I was not covered and I would have to phone Saga to sort this out. Saga admitted that I was covered and told me to ring the agency back (obviously they don't talk to each other!) But the agency don't answer the phone. And so it goes on. It hasn't finished yet but I will try to update when it's over. I will not be renewing with Saga Home Insurance.
written by Ionlywantstandardservice on 06/01/2010
They don't actually deserve one star. Spoke to an adviser about specific cover for items away from home received policy docs to find my specific request was not covered. They agreed it had been mis-sold to me then continued taking the money. Made a claim to the value of £300 Loss adjusters demanded I took day off for them to visit between 10am and 4pm. I stood my ground and they visited my office to examine the broken item 3 weeks later. 2nd year premium rose from £48 per month to £80 per month. Goodbye SAGA. I wish I had checked with this review site before I wasted good money for very poor service.
written by bernardsurrey on 22/11/2009
I left Aviva for Saga only to find out that Aviva handles claims for Saga. the claims handling is long winded with many "specialists" coming to see the water damage. We have had our floors dug up for 6 months now with no hope of finalisation before Christmas.
written by on 30/09/2009
I am annoyed that Saga arbitrarily increased my premium by almost £100 to £542.17 from the next renewal date. I have never made a claim in my five years with Saga. The explanation given by their representative - that claims in this postcode area have increased by up to 30% - is totally unacceptable and probably untrue. In any case I am unwilling to pay extra because of other people's claims. I am a pensioner and we are supposedly in a recession. The person to whom I spoke was not very pleasant and I had difficulty getting a word in edgeways. I have therefore cancelled my policy with Saga as from the renewal date and accordingly I have also cancelled my direct debit with them. I have obtained considerably better cover from RIAS Insurance including all options and double the buildings value quoted by Saga, and I have therefore transferred my policy to RIAS as from the renewal date. Their premium is £335.03. I fail to see why I should pay Saga over £200 more than that for considerably less cover.
written by on 14/09/2009
Saga, the name says it all, don't waste your money. They aren't worthy of any stars but that wasn't an option!
On hearing a loud bang as if something had hit our front door we discovered the interior glass broken, phoned Saga only to find Aviva answer their calls at weekends and could not access our details and were told to call back the next day. Saga sent a man round from homeserve who measured up for the repair.
We heard nothing for nearly 3 weeks and on phoning them were told they will not pay out as it's wear and tear. We are livid as had they bothered to let us know, we could have had it repaired by now and instead our property in not as secure as is should be and I daresay were we burgled in the interim they would not pay out.
We are appalled at the service or should I say lack of it and will be taking the matter further.
written by Robert Fellows on 31/07/2009
I just received my renewal from Saga for house & contents insurance @ £520.27 pa including finance for monthly payments. I decided to do some comparisons and found that there are many alternatatives at around £150 pa for the same cover and with the same excess of £100.
I always beleived that Saga had benefits for the over 50s, but now I dont.
I have now moved to Swinton insurance @ £153.87 pa. They have offices throughout the UK and there is one close to home so that if I have a problem I can deal with them locally.
written by jokeefe on 03/07/2009
Extremely poor customer service. Would not advise anybody to take up policies with Saga. Had contents insurance, unable to claim due to Saga not making it clear about what was covered by the policy. Phoned to cancel the policy on 1 July for refund on outstanding months as policy covered until end of September 2009. Was told after they had deducted the exit fee of £25 (which I was never made aware of) that I would recieve a refund of £16.78, the advisor then changed his mind and said that there would not be a refund, instead I owed them money!!
written by JSCY on 24/04/2009
I was paying a high premium on insurance and Saga Home Insurance seemed to be a lot cheaper for similar cover. When I queried my access I was unhappy to be told they had added a £200 endorsement which with the £100 buildings excess and £50 contents excess gave me total of £350 no way would I have agreed to take Saga insurance if this had been explained. I have since listened to the conversation I had over the phone and the way they told me about the £200 was unclear. Not once was I told that it meant £350 excess. Being for over 50s I feel they should be clearer in their explanations.
written by Janypem on 06/03/2009
Avoid Saga Home Insuranceif you think that you will ever need to claim off your home insurance.
written by elizabee on 14/12/2008
poor customer service with staff. Be very careful with Accidental Cover on your contents it appears Saga will say yes to paying out, then send you the cheque only to be followed 2days later by a letter saying this was sent in error and for it to be returned!!!!
written by thegaleys on 14/10/2008
Hi, I got burgled on 7/10/08. Contacted saga same day, window in french doors boarded up by homeserve in under 2 hours. Man from loss adjusters turned up today. Never having had a claim for about 12 years I expected hassle and arguement. There was absolutely none. He agreed all goods will be replace by specialist companies and a damaged hardwood floor needs replacing in it's entirety due to the damage(i was expecting them to reccomend a coulored pen and some filler!) They really have made everything so simple after the stress and anger of the crime. A real pleasure to deal with so far. If anything changes to alter this opinion, I will update the post.
written by joan2 on 06/10/2008
Having recently claimed following a theft from a utility area of two electric bikes Saga passed on the claim to Halfords for resolution, who then returned this to Saga as they do not sell such bikes for cash resolution, Saga now state this theft is not covered by the policy. This is despite this question specifically being asked when taking out the policy and being told everything in the utility and shed were covered. I am very aggrieved and will be looking elsewhere for cover. Be very careful.
written by rhiannonjane on 12/08/2008
I would strongly advise against home insurance with Saga. After a storm last week and flooding in our home Saga instructed Asprea to deal with our claim. They sent two workmen 2 days later to do emergency repairs to make the roof watertight. The workmen were here 5 minutes and advised it wasn't and insurance 'job' and left us 'high and WET' and did not attempt any repair. 7 days and many downpours later we are still mopping and trying desperately to get repair done ourselves. How they could make such an assessment by just giving it a cursory look I do not know. We insured with Saga thinking they would be reliable for us older less able folk. Apalling.
written by chrisgooch on 09/07/2008
Appalling, would seriously advise against using Saga. The only contractor used by Saga in the south east seems to be Asprea. When I had a water leak recently Asprea were so unhelpful I chose to use my own builders. Saga were only prepared to pay just over half the claim even though the estimate was not unreasonable. I am now waiting for a reply from them - no acknowledgement yet despite writing a month ago.
written by warlord2000ad on 10/11/2007
This insurance is done by my mother as its for the over 50's only. I personally recommend anyone who can get it, to get it. As its excellent value for money, the people are friendly on the phone and English speaking. They are very considerate when you need to make a claim and have been a god send for us on at least 2 occasions.
written by woolymeasles on 18/04/2005
Saga seem to specialise in renewal quotes averaging a 50% increase, be it for home or motor insurance.
My renewal quote was for 413. I phoned, asked for same cover at same address and it went down to 310 just lie that as Tommy Cooper used to say. Two year earlier I had same experience with motor insurance.
written by SPORTSMAN on 25/01/2005
The 'cheap' Saga Home Insurance quote is so basic that it's hardly worth having. To get what you want, they then quote rates that can be obtained from many other companies.
I lasted 12 months before I moved on to a more sensible company.
Worst of all is their continual junk mail once they have your name - it continues relentlessly for years and years.
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