Banks and Insurance companies often give the best deals and the most attention to new customers. Existing customers can be taken for granted and neglected.
Understanding this allows you to search for the switching benefits and better rates and deals that are available to new customers. It’s a good business decision for a provider to offer you a discount or a better rate rather than risk losing your business once they are aware you are looking to switch.
I would like to share a magic question that works surprisingly well with insurers and the premiums that you pay.
Just get them on the phone when you receive your latest bill and ask ‘How can I reduce my premium?’ and wait for the answer. The key is just to ‘ASK’… as most likely you won’t receive any loyalty benefit unless you do.
You will find that there are plenty of variables you can adjust that won’t affect the level of cover you are seeking to achieve and this can reduce your premium. Also even if you don’t change a single setting on your policy this magic question is guaranteed to surprise you with positive results if you ask it often enough.
The latest example from my personal experience was for an insurance policy covering an investment property in Brisbane I recently renewed. I asked the magic question and received a $100 discount off the premium, nothing was changed about the policy, just the price I paid. For a five minute phone call this works out to an hourly rate of $1,200/hr. Money saved can be better than extra money earned as it’s already ‘after tax’ dollars.
I ask this magic question every year for all insured products and have often received hundreds of dollars in reductions. With your mortgage rates you should also be auditing them on a regular basis and asking ‘Am I currently on the best rate?’ as the benefits are real and the savings will be many thousands of dollars over the course of time.
