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Insurance isn’t exactly new, since it has been around in one form or another for many centuries. However, modern technology offers us new ways of getting some good, old-fashioned peace of mind. This Getsafe review will look at one new option you might be considering.

Did you know that about 20% of Brits have no home insurance, and that 1 in 4 of the country’s breadwinners have no life insurance in place? It is clear that there is still a lot of people who should be looking at this kind of important cover. But what is Getsafe and how could it help you to get insured?

Who Are Getsafe?

This is a fully digital insurance company, meaning that they have no physical branches or forms. It was started up by CEO Christian Wiens and CTO Marius Simon. They wanted to make insurance simpler for everyone, so they came up with the idea of an app-based approach.

It was launched in Germany in 2015 and according to their site it is now the most-sold insurance brand among millennials in that country. The Getsafe* site tells us that 2020 is the year that the brand matures. 

At the start of this year they made their first move into the British insurance market, which is the 4^th biggest on the planet and included some £88.8 billion of premiums in the general insurance sector in 2017. 

What Do They Offer?

When we enter the site, we can see the products on offer at the top of the screen.

At the time of updating this Getsafe review for 2022 the company now offer both contents insurance and buildings insurance. You can of course opt for a combined Getsafe Buildings and Contents insurance policy.

Getsafe Contents Insurance

Getsafe currently offer up to £100,000 worth of contents cover.

This protects your personal belongings while they are at home and is one of the most important types of insurance for any homeowner or tenant to take out. They note that it covers against damage, destruction or theft.

It is worth noting that contents are protected for up to 60 days in unoccupied homes and that daily cancellation is permitted. Some of the things that are covered in here are as follows:

• Money stolen from your home, including cash, cheques, postal orders etc.
• Liability for accidental damage caused to other people and their possessions.
• The belongings of people visiting you.
• Lock replacement if your keys are stolen.
• Contents that are outside your house but within the boundary of the property.

As always with insurance, it is important that you check the list of things that aren’t covered too. I had a look and could only see standard exclusions that you would expect on a contents policy. Things like wear and tear, animal damage and things ruined through incorrect use are all excluded.

Getsafe Buildings Insurance

A more recent addition to the Getsafe product lineup is buildings insurance.

Getsafe Buildings Insurance is award winning and can cover you for up to £1 million. You can report claims 24/7 and some of the key elements covered are…

• Damage to pipes – up to £4000 per item
• Glass breakage – up to £25,000
• Alternative accomodation including pets – up to £20,000
• Property owners liability – up to £2 million
• Replacement of keys and locks – up to £1000
• Trace and access of water and oil leaks up to £5000
• Emergency access damage up to £500
• Visitor belongings covered if not insured on their own policy
• Cover for refrigerated food and drink should it become spoiled due to an insurable incident

What Does It Cost?

The starting price mentioned on the website for a combined policy is £2.80 monthly. You can very quickly get a personalised quote for Getsafe insurance* online. For individual buildings and contents policies the price starts at £1.63 per month and £1.56 per month respectively.

Just hit the “Get Quote” button and you will be asked about your claims history, date of birth, postcode and the amount of cover you want for your home contents.

You are then asked if you want to cover any item between the value of £2,000 and £4,000 or protect possessions when you leave home. You also need to choose an excess, which is the initial amount that you need to pay on any incident before the coverage kicks in. Finally, you are asked if you want accidental damage cover.

I went for basic contents cover of £20,000 in North London without anything extra and got quoted just over £5 per month. This seemed a very fair price and not much more than the minimum premium. The quote process only takes a few moments, so you can go back and try with some different details if you aren’t convinced by the first figure that you get.

When it comes to extra fees sometimes charged by home insurance companies, Getsafe proudly state that they offer:

• Daily Cancellation
• No Cancellation Fees
• No Admin Fees
• Monthly Payment With No Interest or Extra Charges

What Do Other People Say About It?

When we first wrote this Getsafe review there weren’t a lot of UK Getsafe reviews available, as the company were still quite new to the UK. Now that they are more established over here, though, we are able to share their Trustpilot review score of 4.2 out of 5 stars which is considered ‘great’ based on over 1,200 reviews.

Their website also states that over 125,000 people use them and that their app has a 4.8 rating, but it isn’t clear if these are UK-only figures.

The official website has some positive reviews collected on it, as you would expect. In terms of third-party reviews, they seem to be good so far, with the ease of use and low cost standing out as important factors.

More people will need to take out the cover and eventually claim on it before we can see a high level of reviews and customer feedback. However, for the moment the signs are positive. 

How Do You Get Started?

This insurance service has been designed to be as simple to use as possible. As we saw earlier, it only takes a moment to get a quote* sorted out. If you want to take out the cover then there is no paperwork needed, as you just accept the quote online.

Even more importantly, the claims process is said to be fast and uncomplicated. You make a virtual claim through the site and they say that they will sort it out as quickly as possible. Again, it will be interesting to see more feedback once the service has been around for longer in the country.

You can do everything on the website using a desktop computer, but it seems to have been designed mainly with app users in mind. It certainly makes sense to keep all of your insurance information close to hand at all times on a mobile device.

Conclusion

Getting good buildings and contents insurance for your belongings should be a financial priority for just about everyone. The low cost and ease of use make Getsafe* a sensible choice in this respect, especially if you like to keep everything in one place on your phone.

While it is still relatively new in the UK, Getsafe’s strong reputation and growth in Germany lets us see that this is a reputable company that has been making good progress over the last few years and seems to have hit on a successful formula. 

This blog does not constitute financial advice. If you’re unsure, seek independent financial advice.