JEFF PRESTRIDGE investigates the unfortunate saga over the 554% increase in the actress’s home insurance

Nina Stratford was late to perform. Only after a career as a health and beauty journalist and enjoying a bit of amateur theater along the way did she decide, at the age of 50, to take a postgraduate course in film, television and radio at the East 15 Acting School in the University of Essex. .

A career as a professional actor beckoned.

He is now 68 years old and has no regrets. Nina has enjoyed some notable acting successes, playing the President of the United States in Simon Cox’s 2019 film, Invasion Planet Earth.

She is a regular guest fashion presenter on the QVC shopping channel, is a presenter and is about to launch into the world of television presenting.

Nina admits that she is not in the same league as some actresses her own age, such as Whoopi Goldberg and Imelda Staunton.

But that doesn’t bother him in the least. She earns a decent living from her job, plays tennis with her friends and is happy with her lot. She does not own a home, but rents a one-bedroom apartment in Buckinghamshire.

However, it seems that his career is now working against him when it comes to the home insurance he has with Saga from October 2022.

Saga believes he is now at high risk and wants to drive his annual premiums through the roof.

In general, actors tend to have difficulties with home insurers because they are perceived as being in the public eye and are often performing away from home.

As a result, your property and contents can attract the attention of criminals, leading to claims that insurers must cover (after policyholders have paid the excess).

Two years ago, Saga was relaxed about her acting occupation and charged her just over £42 for content coverage.

A year later, it increased its price to £66; Nina paid despite the 57 percent premium increase.

Then last month, just before receiving her renewal bonus, Saga subscribers contacted Nina.

They wanted to know what field of activity he was in (film, television, theater), if his property was unoccupied for long periods due to his work, if it was prominent and if it appeared in any media.

Since Saga had known she was an actress from the beginning, the questions baffled her. But she answered them all: respectively, “in all three fields”, “potentially”, “I’m not famous” and “no”.

The answers seem to have worried the insurers because a few days later he received his renewal premium.

For the same level of cover, Saga now wanted to charge £434, a sky-high 554 per cent increase.

To put this into perspective, comparison website Go Compare says average home insurance premiums are rising 32 per cent a year.

“I felt outraged and downright insulted,” Nina told me last week.

‘I’m not a West End star. I’m only among the 98 per cent of actors who get by by supplementing their work with alternative sources of income, such as voiceovers and presentations.’

He called Saga to complain. In turn, he spoke to his insurers, who were unwilling to explain the 554 percent increase.

Annoyed, Nina has now found alternative coverage for about the same price she paid last year.

In recent months, many readers have complained about the steep premium increases that Saga (supposedly a friend of the over-50s) has tried to make them pay when their policies are renewed.

Although few have been as large in percentage terms as Nina’s, they confirm that debt-laden Saga is struggling to remain a competitive force in insurance (it offers car, travel and health cover, as well as home insurance).

So it was no surprise to learn last week that it is in talks with European insurer Ageas to divest parts of its insurance business.

The faster you do it, the better, for the reputation of the Saga brand and for those policyholders who have not yet followed Nina and abandoned ship.