Discounts on financial products

One the weekend I realised that I needed to renew my landlords protection and house insurance. Looking at the renewal amount I was surprised at how high the insurance cost was (~$840 which was a 30% increase from 2010).

I was not surprised that there was an increase given how hard insurers got hit with the floods that affected Queensland however 30% seemed outrageous especially given that I live in a area which never has flood problems etc. I therefore got a quote from another insurer and then took it back to my insurer who lowered the cost significantly.

This got me thinking about where else I was paying fees or costs that were too high. Since then I have renegotiated my bank account keeping fees (now paying nothing instead of $5 a month - same account - same everything...just no fees) and will be getting onto my phone next.

The moral of the story is that you can get significant savings (i'm already above $150 p.a.) for very little effort - just have to get out there and ask.