Back in June I rang Saga to renew insurance on my mother's flat and report that she had died. I was told that, as the property was now unoccupied, coverage would be reduced to exclude certain events such as flooding. I was told that, once Probate was granted, I should inform Saga immediately and would then need to take out a new policy. Nothing was said about ceasing coverage entirely.

I rang today to renew or change the policy and, after waiting on hold for several minutes, was put through to a person with an accent so strong that I had great trouble in understanding them. Eventually they cancelled the existing policy and then kept me on hold for some time, before then telling me that Saga doesn't do insurance on unoccupied properties! To add insult to injury, on pointing out that I had only been told that after cancelling the policy (as instructed), I was offered the facility to make a complaint and, when I answered Yes, I would like to do that, was put on hold again!

Being kept on hold, switched to a different department, put on hold again and only then being told Saga couldn't help me was not only a waste of my time but also unnecessarily increased the stress following a bereavement and dealing with the complications of my mother's estate. Why couldn't I have been told this months ago so that I could investigate insurance elsewhere?

As neither I nor my mother has ever made a claim, Saga has rewarded good customers by simply abusing their time. I would advise anyone reading this to avoid Saga Insurance.