Dear LPG,

I read what NS of Deptford had to say about insurance and the gadgets that we have come to rely on at home; (TVs, washing machines, microwaves etc.) (►►►)

I have to say that I am a bit of a saver and have my own personal ‘white goods’ insurance fund.  I know that it is all a bit of a game of chance but these appliances don’t go wrong that often, and as long as you do save a little bit of money each month it works quite well.  When you add up all the different things we can insure in this way and the amount of money we spend on them it can be quite worrying.  I think you are better off keeping the money and paying for repairs or a new appliance when you need to, but I suppose that you must be able to save without dipping into your fund for other things which is harder for some than others.

That being said; I had a new kitchen fitted when I retired five years ago and, as part of the package, I paid for five years guarantee on all those bits of equipment that came with it (washing machine, cooker, fridge etc.)  As you can imagine all the insurances are just about due to come to an end.  As a result, for the past six months or so, I have been being bombarded with people phoning up and offering to insure them and the more I say I am not interested, the more I get pestered. 

Reading NS’s message got me thinking about what you can do and I called the Citizens Advice Bureau who did not really have an answer but suggested that when the calls occur perhaps there is one effective strategy.

Many of us have now got the ‘No, not today thank you’ answer all worked out and it is very effective though doing it continuously can become annoying.

The advisor that I spoke to suggested that asking the person on the other end of the phone for full details of their company (Name, address etc.)  will frighten of most of the scammers but the genuine insurance companies should be ready to supply the answers.  Once you have done that, it might be time to ask exactly where they got your information from.  If you cannot get an answer ask to speak to the manager and ask the same question and, failing that contact the company by email or letter if you can. 

It is a time a consuming practice, but we keep answering the phone to these people anyway, if asking such probing questions doesn’t frighten them off, perhaps doing a little survey of your own may well throw a few answers our way, and we pensioners are the people who the section of the population are arguably who have the time to do it.

GT, Catford

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