Not Looking Hard Enough

It is a common story in the UK, but apathy seems to be one of the most prevailing national characteristics in all walks of life. It is a widely documented fact that as a nation we like to grumble and complain more about things than we do actually do something about them, but it is truly eye-opening when you see the extent to which this permeates through society as a whole.

One could be forgiven for thinking that this wouldn’t apply when it came to people saving money. Good old fashioned cynicism would suggest that when it comes to the size of peoples wallets, this apathy may magically evaporate, but even this isn’t true. A good example lies in the recently published findings that homeowners in the UK could be losing out by not seeking the cheapest home insurance deals. Cheap home insurance policies are being overlooked by many people in the UK to the tune of a staggering £1.3 billion every year.

The research revealed the level of losses incurred by not seeking the lowest home insurance quotes, adding that only seven per cent of homeowners looked for cheaper deals online last year and of those who did, an average of £185 was saved. Furthermore, only 44 per cent of people have reviewed their home insurance policies - compared to 65 per cent of motorists who have sought better prices online.

‘People could be a little too trusting that the home insurance policy they took out several years ago is still the right policy at the right price,’ warned Darren Black, head of the company that published the details and his comments could not be more apt in this time of economic recession. The deals out there to be found by the discerning consumer diligent enough to get up off the sofa in the first place are really quite good. Check out Kwik Fit Insurance’s house insurance for example, they have been given several awards and industry plaudits in the past few months for giving customer satisfaction.

Other than that, a nation of apathetic layabouts seriously needs to buck its ideas up if it is ever going to start saving itself money.