How To Save Big on Landlord Insurance Renewals!

Landlord Building Insurance Renewal

DON’T DO IT!

Please don’t allow your insurance policy to automatically renew, and please refrain from blindly agreeing to any renewals before shopping around for quotes, because you’re most likely having your pants pulled down!

I just saved myself £260 (in 20 mins) by shopping around after receiving an obscene quote from my current provider to renew my premium (one that was due to automatically renew unless I interviened)!

Alas, Halifax’s Landlord Insurance division must think I have “MUG” tattooed across my forehead. Their renewal quote was a complete joke – an increase of 70% (I’ll get into the details shortly).

Of course, I know they’re not the only insurance provider violating their customer base with extortionate renewal quotes for absolutely no reason, well, other than pure corporate greed.

*sigh* Every year I have to go through the same ol’ dance:

  1. Acquire competitive landlord insurance policy
  2. One year later, receive an extortionate renewal quote for absolutely no justifiably reason
  3. Double-check there hasn’t been a clerical error, because the new quote defies logic (nope, no error)
  4. Throw a hissy fit over corporate greed.
  5. Can I get a hand count of everyone that has also danced to the same tiresome beat? *hands up*

    Unfortunately for them (by “them”, I mean all the providers on the planet), they’re dealing with a landlord that’s tighter than a bull’s asshole during fly season, so dancing to the beat of their drum by effectively “doing nothing” and agreeing to their new terms is out of the question. Not on my watch, never happening.

    Here’s how and why to fight the system…

The simple steps to renewing your Landlord Insurance policy for less!

Step 1: ALWAYS shop around!! It only takes 20 mins to save big.

I know, I know! It’s so damn convenient and effortless to simply agree to the automatic renewal, even if the mark-up compared to the previous year’s policy is totally absurd.

But that’s the thing, that’s exactly the level of incompetence they want from us. In fact, most companies that use automatic renewals prey on laziness. They literally hope their customer base is filled with immobile, useless gluttonous blobs that roll over and blindly agree to nonsense.

In reality, it only takes a few minutes to determine whether there’s a better deal available on the market. That’s it.

Dedicating approximately 10 minutes of our precious time to potentially save hundreds of pounds is a fair deal, right? Yet so many of us still don’t bother, and essentially fuel the process. It’s gut-wrenching, and it’s exactly why insurance companies continue to pull this stunt.

Step 2: Visit my go-to and recommendation for landlord insurance (or any other comparison website)

QuoteSearcher.

They’re my go-to for landlord insurance and have been for literally several years. Yes, they’re my affiliate partner, but I’m also a real and avid user of their service.

Get a quote from QuoteSearcher in 5 mins:

Fair warning: my phone literally rang within 30 seconds of completing the form, and I had multiple insurance brokers contact me, trying to shill me their best product for the best price.

It can initially feel annoying, but it’s a very fast and effective way of quickly getting quotes from real insurance advisors. Plus, I always recommend talking to a few different brokers to get a feel for the market.

FYI: I’ve personally received the best quotes from QuoteSearcher, however, any other comparison website should also yield better quotes than most renewal offers.

Above all, my primary recommendation is to shop around, and not to quickly and blindly agree to renewal quotes before doing so. You’ll almost always be able to find a better deal relatively easily.

Get your Landlord Insurance quote from QuoteSearcher.

Step 3 (optional): haggle with your existing provider

Most renewal quotes are exactly that, quotes.

Nine times out of ten the quote will be lowered if you contact your current insurer and sneer at their initial attempt at buying your loyalty. So haggling is always worth a try. To be fair, from my experience, this has been extremely effective in the past. There have been occasions where I was able to not only reduce their quote, but also beat the others I had received.

However, in this particular case, I was so mortified by Halifax’s initial batshit crazy ‘chancer’ quote that I made the moral decision from the offset not to renew with them even if they were able to compete with the other quotes. Not over my dead body were they getting another penny from me.

They weren’t able to beat the quote (just in case you were wondering).

It would be wise to note that I’ve listed this step AFTER getting other quotes first, because then you’ll want to go into battle armed with bargaining chips.

*Queue [another] rant* The entire ritual really rides my knickers up my crack, because they could just make life easier and fairer by giving us their best offer from the offset. But as mentioned, they rely in incompetence and sheer laziness, and there’s enough of society blindly agreeing to their first offer for them to justify this approach.

How I saved £100’s by shopping around for Landlord Insurance!

I’m writing this bit for anyone that’s remotely interested in hearing the specifics of my case study, and how I managed to save £260 in 20mins by using QuoteSearcher after giving Halifax’s renewal quote the middle finger.

Insurance policy requirements/spec

  • I was looking to renewal policies for two properties in the same neighbourhood, with virtually identical features and proportions.
  • The rebuild cost for each property was set at £150,000. (here’s a rebuild cost calculator (by Association of British Insurers) so you can calculate what yours should be set at)
  • £250 excess fee
  • £5 million public liability
  • Includes accidental damage cover

Renewal policy proposed by Halifax

Halifax, my current insurance provider, quoted me £260 for each property, totalling £520.

The previous year I paid £120 for the same policy. Yes, that’s a 70’ish per cent increase. And yes, I vomited. I can’t make sense of the increase.

New proposed offer with ‘Lloyds of London’

Lloyds of London were one of the brokers that contacted me after I completed the quote form on QuoteSearcher. They quoted me £130 for each property and for like-for-like policies as my existing ones, totalling £260.

Side note: the usual 14 day grace period applied (from when the policy starts), so I was entitled to cancel the policy and get a full refund within the period, no questions asked.

Total saving

Renewal offer by current provider: £520 (includes 2 policies)
Renewal offer by new provider: £260 (includes 2 policies)
Total Saving: £260

50% saving in 20 minutes

It took me 20 minutes in total to fill out the landlord insurance quote form, talk to an insurance broker, and renew my policy for a much better rate.

When I contacted Halifax to cancel the automatic renewal, I couldn’t help but laugh when the advisor tried to convince me to stay with them, even though they wouldn’t offer me a quote anywhere near as competitive as the one I was on the verge of switching to.

I appreciate he was only doing his job, but it was amusing that he couldn’t provide me with an objectively good reason to stay loyal, but was still adamant on trying.

Yes, I’ll stay loyal to the company that’s trying to screw me 10 different ways into next Tuesday.

DO YOU HEAR ME? ALWAYS GET RENEWAL QUOTES!

I realise I’m screaming like a petulant child. I apologise.

But I hope the message is getting through.

Admittedly, even I was genuinely surprised by the savings (and in turn, how fucking ambitious Halifax’s renewal offer was), and I feel like I actually made an extra £260 today for 20 minutes work.

Most of us in the real world work our asses off to earn £260 (at least, definitely more than 20mins work), so this seems like an easy win.

If you’re one of those people that are always reluctant to shop around (for whatever reason), I hope this post encourages you to reconsider.

If you’ve got a policy that needs renewing any time soon, at least try it, and let me know how you get it on (and how much you saved).

As they say, “any saving is better than an oversized dildo being shoved up your ass.”

Happy saving! xo

34 Join the Conversation...

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Benji 11th August, 2014 @ 12:30

I reckon you might have been shafted on the rebuild costs.

£150K seems steep if this is just an average quality build 2 bed. Depends on area of course but even average London doesn't come out that high.

Try it on this rebuild calculator (it links to the BCIS without having to register);

https://www.lea-financial-services.co.uk/rebuild-calculator/

I reckon you could ring them back up and save another 30 quid- if you can be arsed.

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The Landlord Avatar
The Landlord 11th August, 2014 @ 13:00

The broker initially suggested setting it at £120k, but it was the same price for £150k, so it made sense to leave it at the top end of the margin.

Useful calculator though. It estimated the rebuild cost at £125k.

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graham 11th August, 2014 @ 19:17

Took your advice and had the brokers falling over themselves to give me a cheap quote ,and the quote was good ,but a water leak i pay the first £500 ,so hoping nothing goes wrong with the water works ,told the tenant to only have one shower a week and not to flush the toilet to often about once a fortnight should do ,my own water works needs a bit of attention but cant seem to find a good plumber who speaks English these days ,the only plumber i know lives in Spain ,i just knew i was paying him too much .

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The Landlord Avatar
The Landlord 11th August, 2014 @ 19:29

haha, yeah, they come in thick and fast!

So was the saving worth taking, despite the £500 excess for water leaks? I'm assuming that wasn't the case with for all the policies, was it? What's the deal with your current policy and water leaks?

What did you decide to do?

Thanks for letting me know Graham!

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Andy 11th August, 2014 @ 19:35

Each year i put my house portfolio insurance out to various insurance providers to see who is competitive in that year. I try to use a local agent if at all possible as i like to be able to pop in to talk about things as and when changes occur during the year, this is something I think is important and thus price is only one consideration. The rebuild valuation is key, i have either a rebuild valuation from surveys when buying a house or i work out sq mtrs and calcualate (and document on file) a rebuild value, always adding a sum for headroom. Do not cut under insure as this will bite you if you ever need to claim. My houses are mainly terraced or semi detached, this year my provider got a great deal on a 'flats' policy through AXA, it covers houses as well. Had quotes that work out between £100 and £225 per property from various sources. The message is clear, with a bit of groundwork, with a few calls and emails you can save money and get better cover.

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David 12th August, 2014 @ 14:05

Nice article, one word of warning, never under insure, they pro rata it to the payout.

Also check you are comparing apples with apples, they are very clever at structuring terms to dig themselves out of having to payout.

BTW I think you mean adament rather than amendment.

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The Landlord Avatar
The Landlord 12th August, 2014 @ 14:46

@Andy,

Definitely agree, price is one consideration. And I definitely don't think the cheapest product is necessarily the best.

For example, I could have paid less if I lowered my rebuild cost to the lower bracket, if I increased my excess fee, and didn't opt for 'accidental damage cover' (apparently that's not always standard). But like you said, it's always better to add sum for a little extra breathing space!

Looks like you got quite a price range with your quotes!

@David
Thanks David!!

Yeah, goes without saying, insurance companies will do everything with in their power to refrain from paying out, so as you said, it's crucial, if you're renewing, to actually ensure the policies you're comparing are similar, if not identical.

Thanks for the typo spot, you're right (although you spelt 'adamant' wrong ha) :)

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Nige 12th August, 2014 @ 17:38

Its one of the simple rules of economics.

2 guys each earn £1000 per year.Their total living expenses are each ..£1000 per year.
One gets a £100 raise to £1100 a year.
The other pulls in the horns and saves £100 a year
Both should have an extra £100 in their pockets.
Wrong.
The guy who saves is not subject to tax etc on the extra £100 and is better off.

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Jace 13th August, 2014 @ 06:59

Is Landlords Insurance still necessary for a flat in a block that already has Buildings Insurance?

Thanks

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Andy 13th August, 2014 @ 09:06

Jace - this is my opinion on your question. Your service charge on the block of flats is part paying for insurance and the freeholder should give you a copy of the cover, to this ends the bricks and mortar are covered. What you may wish to consider is the contents of the flat that you own as these will not be covered by buildings insurance. The other consideration should be liability cover for things like a tradesman having an accident in your flat and claiming against you. Where I have had a flat in the past I tend to put a small amount of contents cover of say £10k that includes public liability cover, the cost is minimal but gave me peace of mind. Every situation is different and you should consider yours on its own merits.

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Nige 13th August, 2014 @ 09:30

Take care with flats. I had one where the freeholder vanished . Nobody collected a charge of any sort so it wasn't insured. Make sure that you actually see the policy.
Although mine were in a block of 4 I insured mine separately as that gave me a degree of security.

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Pawel 4th September, 2014 @ 07:26

My suggestion is - try cashback sites as well. At the moment going through quidco.com could earn you around £90-95 commission per policy if you go for Direct Line or More Than - which were one of the cheapest policies anyway.

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Evan Kennedy 12th September, 2014 @ 09:39

Choosing the right insurance policy for your property is a tough job as there are hundreds of policies available in the market. Before signing a policy, it is better to note down your requirement and then see which policy is covering your requirements to the maximum. I will suggest taking the services of Pick Fords to buy the land insurance policy.

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Johnboy 5th August, 2015 @ 13:50

Hi. Just purchased and let a 2 bed terraced house in West Yorkshire.
1st timer.. Would anyone recommend loss of rent insurance should the tenant fail to pay.

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The Landlord Avatar
The Landlord 5th August, 2015 @ 15:50

Hi Johnboy,

I think you're referring to RGI (Rent Guarantee Insurance), I personally think it's definitely worth it. More info here

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Kerry 8th August, 2015 @ 10:18

Hi I just wanted to say a big thanks. I am about to become a first time landord and signed up for your latest landlord tips a few months ago. I saved your April tips on insurance and have just completed the form this morning. In 1 minute of my pressing the send button Emily an extremely professional lady rang me from Peacock Insurance of Coventry. She found me a quote of £126, yet the cheapest quote I had managed to find on line was £216. So thanks for saving me a hefty £90. Filling in the form, receiving the call and paying over my dues took as you rightly say no more than 20 minutes. Cheers

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Jackie Cain 1st November, 2015 @ 21:48

Hi your email came just at the right time for me. My building insurance was due on my buy-to-let property. I had my renewal through at £314. I completed the form and within seconds got a phone call from a number of insurance companies. The best quote I got was £197.97 like for like.
That's a saving of 116.03 :-)

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Aileen 8th March, 2016 @ 15:30

Thanks a lot Landlord for shaking me up from my cosy butterfly and sunshine world and making me think (and act!). Used your form to get some quotes for Landlord Insurance and saved myself £300! Think I was being totally ripped off before and my laziness has cost me hundreds over the years! I have learnt my lesson. Quotes will be requested every year now - I won't get caught again.

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The Landlord Avatar
The Landlord 14th March, 2016 @ 23:08

Love it!! I love hearing about the savings everyone is making from such a simple and quick process!

Thanks for the feedback everyone, really appreciate it! Hopefully more people will continue to be encouraged.

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Marcia 9th May, 2016 @ 22:06

I am in the process of buying my share of freehold for my flat (which is in a terraced house comprising a total of 2 flats)and with my neighbour will need to decide for a Building Insurance cover for both flats. On top of that, though, I will need Landlord's Insurance, as I will be letting my flat. How does this work? Can we get a Building Insurance for both flats and a separate Landlord's just for me? Would I be paying for Building insurance twice though? Kind of confused!! Thanks

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Brian Hatley 3rd July, 2017 @ 18:44

Ever since Motor Insurance marketing changed (about 10 years ago?), I have become paranoid about the whole business. I invariably renewed with the same company because I thought being a loyal customer was appreciated (it is - sucker!) So many changes were happening then, companies abandoning motor insurance altogether or being taken over by other vultures.
When one renewal notice came through at well over twice the premium (oh, and told not to worry since they will renew automatically, and "you won't be uninsured"), I started to search online and of course came up with much cheaper quotes.
I applied this process to Breakdown Cover, then with Buildings Insurance (both home and my lettings). Unfortunately, only motor insurance seems to be catered for by the likes of "Compare the Merecat" etc, so this form will be a godsend.
A word of warning though: Even the comparison sites are not without skullduggery,
hence my mention of paranoia. I've found that proper timing is vital. If they twig that you are over a barrel - the price goes up, rather like Holidays do during school vacations. So plan well ahead if you can. Naturally, they are aware of that dodge too, so they have time limits before the quote expires. Forget, and try again nearer the time, and they will remember your previous searches, thus realising you are at their mercy!

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David 4th July, 2017 @ 08:02

@Brian

People talk about Rip Off Britain, I call it Mugs Britain.

Do you remember when we joined the EU we were told that it would bring greater competition and lower prices?

What actually happened is our insurance companies were acquired by EU companies who could not believe what UK customers put up with.

A friend of mine has been on a long term contract in Germany for nearly 10 years, his insurance has not increased in all that time, in fact it has got lower. A few years ago he was hit by another car whilst visiting family in the UK. He made no claim because his car would be beyond economic repair for an insurance company. The other driver did the same (they were at fault).

His premium did not increase, a year later the UK driver started one of these fake medical claims, a scratch on his finger became "tissue damage". The insurance company settled even though it was a fake claim, simply because it was cheaper to settle.

Despite this the German insurance company still did NOT increase the premium.

In the UK, a tree can fall on your car in a street where you will never visit again but your premium will be increased.

Even if you make no claim they increase your premium in the UK.

In Germany you have to be at fault and you have to make a claim for them to increase the premium.

In addition this we have the ABI, data sharing and insurance companies excluding this that and the other. All of these work against customers.

It is high time this disgusting industry was highly regulated.

On this blog we often talk about the deregulation act of 2015 because of the changes affecting landlord. Yet there was also a change in insurance policies. Previously an insurance company had to give you 28 days notice before dropping cover on a car policy, the dereg act allows them to terminate at midnight on the day they tell you and they can tell you via email!!

As far as I am concerned insurance should have no exclusions (especially for medical), i.e. we all share the risk and before they start saying it will be prohibitively expensive, that is nonsense, exclusions were only created to find ways to make more profit.

END OF RANT

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Brian Hatley 6th July, 2017 @ 09:41

Excellent "rant" David! I couldn't have explained all that better myself! Especially the bit: "What actually happened is our insurance companies were acquired by EU companies who could not believe what UK customers put up with."
I concur with everything you said in your post, although there will be many who will say we are simply paranoid.
The question is, what can be done about it?
I'm just 80 years old now, so have (realistically) only another 10 years of car ownership ahead of me, and will probably give it up before then, but I feel sorry for my adult children and grandchildren who actually think the EU is a good thing!

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David 6th July, 2017 @ 12:52

The solution is REGULATION, whether it be banks or any other business, if you are soft they abuse the market.

As long as there is the ABI coordinating cartel like behaviour there will never be competition.

I heard on you and yours how if you shop around on price comparison websites they put your price UP!

When the ABI was queried about this they said "it is too complicated for you to understand".

By simply removing exclusions and the 80 page terms and conditions for all insurance we will have a truly competitive market because they will all be insuring the same risk.

That, dismantling the ABI and maybe breaking up the biggest companies.

All loss adjusters should also be banned then taken out at dawn and shot!

I have noticed how the insurance companies are encouraging their legal customers to say nothing, refuse to provide evidence unless compelled by a court and playing BLAME THE VICTIM.

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Sarah 1st August, 2017 @ 10:49

Would have loved the form to have provision to state when existing insurance is due for renewal, as I don't want to cancel mine I just want a competitive quote ready for when mine runs out.

What happened was, minutes after I filled the form in the phone started ringing starting from 8.45 in the morning (while getting the kids ready to leave for school)almost like it was a national emergency that I get a quote right then and there!of course they all had several questions to ask, and being morning rush time had to ask them all to call later or email me.I appreciated the enthusiasm though!
I though would have personally preferred to give more details on the form and they email me quotes for me to read in my own time and compare quote for quote.

Every year when my insurance renewal rolls around I know I should do my ' homework' but never get round to do it..now was my chance to do it at liesure !

For instance,the form asked how many bedrooms the property has, whereas mine is a Victorian conversion with 5 flats in the building..it got tedious explaining that to each caller..

Just my opinion, being that I'm a busy landlord and Mum of young kids, never enough time in the day...

Otherwise great article as usual and def got me to start the ball rolling come renewal time..

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Tessa 24th January, 2018 @ 18:08

Tried to "Find a quote"
Find address doesn't find and no alternative
Get Quote button does nothing.
You couldn't make it up.

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Sophia 20th March, 2018 @ 13:22

Hi, thank you for your email.
At the moment I am paying £346 for a three bed semi which includes rent cover. I miss read the policy last year and when it read "rent" it just meant "rent recovery" .

It is best to shop around - I did but was only saving around £50 ..so I stuck with the same insurer.

Propertyinvestment web site is brilliant!

Thank you ..

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Sean 29th September, 2020 @ 09:32

It's not just the price that you have to consider.
A couple of years ago one of my properties had "the dreaded fire" caused by our tenants fridge freezer going up in flames. The house was badly damaged.
Five months later, and work hadn't even started on getting the house started. The insurance company just said to contact Direct Group that were dealing with the claim, and they never seemed to know what was happening and even claimed the case was closed on one occasion. They obviously earned their one star rating on Trustpilot. Eventually things started to get better when they instructed a local contractor to do the work, but then work stoppped as the contractor hadn't been paid the agreed stage payments. A year after the fire, the property was finished and our tenants moved back in. Now (rather like car insurance), premiums on ALL my properties have shot up, as I had made a claim on a house buildings insurance policy in the last 5 years.

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Diane 13th April, 2021 @ 09:07

I saved £80 with better cover & less excess too. Thanks

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Sarah Henniker 1st June, 2021 @ 06:30

Hi haven’t tried yet as I had a nightmare to find a company to insure my premises.
It’s one building, split into 2, with separate addresses for council tax etc. Hardly anyone would insure as the current property is currently an empty shop ( waiting to be converted).
Any suggestions of companies would be gratefully received. Thanks

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David 10th September, 2021 @ 12:38

I actually filled the form out and received.... nothing. Radio silence.

Not sure what's happened....

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The Landlord Avatar
The Landlord 11th September, 2021 @ 09:21

@David,

That's annoying, apologies!

When did you fill out the form? In my recent blog post, I've had other people reporting successful outcomes [after submitting their details].

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David Porter 2nd November, 2021 @ 00:12

Greetings, just managed to save £60 on my Landlord’s insurance renewal following your advice.
My existing insurer’s had increased my premium by almost 15%, not willing to just roll over and swallow it I filled out the quote zone form, got contacted by Marlon from Orwell Insurance Services
and he quoted a price that I was happy to pay, broker was efficient and helpful.

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The Landlord Avatar
The Landlord 2nd November, 2021 @ 10:06

Hi @David,

Amazing, thanks for the update, and really pleased to hear you managed to save some money with your renewal! That's what this blog post is all about.

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