Insurance Tracker

UK homeowners risking thousands with inadequate home insurance cover

As many as 1.5 million people could be without adequate home insurance according to a new survey.

A poll of 2,017 homeowners found 2% had contents insurance but no buildings cover, 3% had buildings insurance but no contents cover, and 1% had neither type of insurance.

The survey also found that the problems were more serious among young adults, with 12% of those aged 18-34 missing at least one of the two insurance types. London and the South East was the most underinsured area, with 11% of people across all age groups lacking one or both forms of cover.

Moneysupermarket.com, which commissioned the survey, warned that this was a substantial risk with burst pipes, subsidence and boiler breakdowns all posing potentially thousand of pounds in costs for those without buildings insurance. It noted that combined cover can cost as little as £169 for an average household and suggested those on tight budgets look for insurers who break down premiums into monthly payments without charging fees or

Posted on 27 May 2010 | 12:50 pm

New figures show impact of location on home insurance premiums

Home insurance premiums can vary by almost three times depending on where you live according to new figures. The most expensive postcode, Stanmore in northwest London (HA7) has an average premium of £286.50, compared with just £103.98 in central Bournemouth.

The other most expensive areas were NW11 (Golders Green, £280.59), SE21 (Southwark, £279.07), NW7 (Mill Hill in northwest London, £270.76) and HA6 (Northwood in northwest London, £286.47). Five of the ten most expensive areas where in the Harrow postcode region.

Other areas among the cheapest were YO1 (York, £109.22), G5 (the Gorbals in Glasgow, £110.73), SP9 (Tidworth in Wiltshire, £110.79) and NG1 (Nottingham, £111.87).

The figures come from MoneySupermarket.com and represent the cheapest average quote for each postcode from the insurers it covers. The company noted that what makes an expensive or cheap area is a complicated process: areas at higher risk of burglary may also be areas where the value of homeowner belongings is lower. There's also an effect from the risk of subsidence or flooding in an

Posted on 14 May 2010 | 12:43 pm

Rental rise highlights home insurance issues

A steep rise in renting rather than buying should serve as a reminder of the importance of getting the correct home insurance for all concerned, experts have warned.

The Residential Landlords Association says there are several reasons for the increase in the number of renters, including:

• the difficulty of obtaining a mortgage as banks become choosier about new customers;
• a rise in the deposit required on mortgaged properties, with a 20% downpayment now common;
• more people struggling to save up to buy a home because of the effects of the economic downturn; and
• a drop in the number of new houses being built meaning people who have to move home may struggle to find a suitable purchase to buy in the new location.

While there are some insurance benefits to renting rather than buying, such as avoiding the need to buy buildings insurance (this is usually the responsibility of the landlord), it's important to remember the landlord is not responsible for insuring a tenant's personal property.

If a problem with the house, such as a burst pipe, causes damage to belongings it's possible a tenant may be able to

Posted on 3 March 2010 | 12:11 pm

Homes at risk from poor security and safety maintenance

A survey from Legal & General has revealed that many UK homes could be at risk due to poor maintenance of security and safety devices designed to protect us.

The annual 'Safe as Houses' report, showed that although we’re good at having home security features in place, we’re not good at checking that they're still working and could even be putting off repairs to broken or faulty home security equipment.

The survey asked people to provide details of the security and safety devices they have in their homes, and has shown an increase in the number of people with home security features fitted. Figures show that nearly 90% of us have a smoke alarm, 85% have window locks and 72% good quality door locks. However, of those that are putting off home maintenance, 37% one in five, 21% are delaying plans to repair broken or malfunctioning window and door locks and 11% are ignoring faulty alarm systems. For example, nearly 40% stated that they had a house alarm fitted, but 44% admitted that they had actually checked that it was in working order.

These are the top five safety and security features that people admitted they had never checked...

1. Fire extinguishers 69%
2. Intruder alarm 56%

Posted on 17 December 2008 | 4:08 am

Majority of home insurers still not offering a no-claims discount

New research released by Sainsbury’s Finance has revealed that UK home insurers continue to lag behind car insurers for rewarding customers with a no-claims discount.

The findings which were commissioned by Sainsburys Home Insurance, reveal that just one in four (26%) of home insurance policies offer a no-claims discount, preventing customers from benefiting from potentially huge savings. What's more, of those home insurers that do offer it, 8% penalise customers for making a claim by removing more than one year of no-claims discount, even if they have built up several years no-claims discounts.

Sainsbury’s Finance, whose home insurance offers up to 30% no-claims discount, believes that many insurers are treating their customers unfairly. Also, if homeowners do make a claim, their premiums may rise dramatically because they have not built up a no-claims discount. 

Home Insurance Manager for Sainsbury’s, Neil Laird, said: "A no-claims discount can significantly reduce your premiums. For example, after five years of no claims, our customers could benefit from a discount of up to 30%. We don’t see any reason why insurers should offer no-claims discounts on their motor insurance policies but not on their home insurance, and it is alarming that so many providers are not being upfront and transparent about

Posted on 27 November 2008 | 7:37 am

Government Flooding Deal Ensures Insurance Availability

It's a year since unprecidented floods hit parts of Gloucestershire and the Midlands bringing devastation to thousands of homes.

In an effort to ensure continued availablity of flood insurance to homes in these and other areas, the Government and the ABI (Association of British Insurers) have reached an agreement on future flood prevention strategies.

Included in a package of measures the Government has commitment to deliver a long-term flooding strategy and stricter controls on new developments in and around flood risk areas. The new agreement comes as ABI research surveying the victims of last year's flood victims revealed:

• 80% believe the flood risk is getting worse.
• 75% think not enough is being done to tackle the flood risk.
• 90% say that new homes should not be built in flood risk areas unless there are adequate flood defences in place. 

The ABI’s Director of General Insurance and Health, Nick Starling, commented:

"Last summer’s floods highlighted the urgent need for an overhaul in managing the flood risk. Insurers dealt with over 180,000 claims, and paid out £3 billion. The Government is now committed to a long-term flood strategy that will lead to a better understanding of the flood

Posted on 20 July 2008 | 10:36 am

Home Insurance Still Available for Flood Risk Areas

A year on from the devastating floods that hit many parts of the UK in 2007, research from Moneysupermarket.com has shown that it is still possible for homeowners in affected areas to secure home insurance cover despite being classed as a high risk.

Moneysupermarket analysed premiums for the twelve months to June 2008 for Tewkesbury which is now classified as a high risk flood area. From this two different  stories emerge. The first shows that despite the increased risk for flooding in this area, homeowners who haven’t made a flood claim are still able to get competitive insurance from a wide range of insurers.

Unfortunately, it's not so easy if a flood claim has been made as only three insurers; Halifax, Birmingham Midshires and Sainsburys return any quotes.  The good news is that these insurers still offer competitive premiums, with quotes on average only 5% more expensive than the previous year.

Head of insurance research at moneysupermarket.com, Peter Gerrard commented: "It's been a year since floods hit homes in Yorkshire, Gloucestershire and other parts of the UK. Those living in high risk areas can take some reassurance from our research. It is not all bad news, even if a claim has been made for flood damage, and although only a handful of insurers will provide a

Posted on 10 July 2008 | 10:04 am

Sainsburys Urges Homeowners to Review Garden Security

On the back of recent claims figures for garden thefts, Sainsburys Home Insurance is urging us to pay more attention to our garden security and to be on the look-out for green-fingered thieves this summer. The claims figures confirm an average garden theft home insurance for the year to January 2008 of just over £291.

Research from Sainsbury’s indicates that around 34% of items stolen are worth under £50, 23% are worth £50-£100, 26% are worth £101-£400 and 11% of valued at £401-£1,000.  It's estimated that around 3% of stolen garden items are worth more than £1,000.

Commenting on the figures, Neil Laird, Manager of Sainsburys Home Insurance said:  "Garden theft is on the increase and people need to take care to protect their homes.  Homeowners need to review their garden security and ensure they have adequate insurance. Homes seen to have 'rich-pickings' that are left unsecured, may be targeted again so as well as tightening up security, it's worth picking a home insurance policy that allows you to benefit from and protect your no claims discount.".

Sainsburys is encouraging homeowners to fight back against garden thieves and take the following action:

• Take photograph's of your valuable garden ornaments and mark property with your postcode
• Start

  Posted on 18 June 2008 | 3:36 pm

Legal & General lauches interactive home contents calculator

Findings from a recent survey carried out by Legal and General home insurance confirmed that Brits are not very good at valuing the contents of their home.

The survey questioned over 4,000 people and revealed that 15% have no idea how much it would cost to replace the contents of their home. Although the average home contents value calculated by L&G is estimated to be over £40,000, the survey showed that 59% estimate that the cost of replacing their entire home contents would be less than £40,000. What's more, over a quarter, 27% valued their contents at less than £20,000, so potentially underinsuring their contents by 100%.

These figures suggest that UK residents could be seriously undervaluing their home contents and as a result under-estimating the level of insurance they really need.

So, in an attempt to help people more accurately value their house contents,  Legal & General has developed a 3D online calculator designed as a virtual home which enables users to add up the value of their possessions, room by room. The simple to use room by room inventory format is designed to help ensure a more realistic total valued.

The calculator is available at www.legalandgeneral.com/contentscalculator.

Marketing Director for Legal & General general insurance, Garry Skelton, said... "Many of us seem to be seriously under-estimating the value of the contents of our

Posted on 3 June 2008 | 3:09 pm

Home insurers tips to avoid identity fraud

Do you have a spare 400 hours and £8000? That’s the estimate from CIFAS and Which? for what it could cost you to clear up difficulties arising from identity fraud or theft.

Between January and September of 2007, there were 57,302 incidents of identity fraud reported to CIFAS, the UK's fraud prevention service. The Home Office estimates that identity fraud costs the UK economy about £1.7 billion a year.

Now, one of the UK’s leading insurers is doing something about it. Direct Line recently announced that it is providing free Identity Fraud Assistance for both new and existing customers who purchase home contents and buildings cover together.

Any Direct Line customer who has taken out a policy since 7th January 2008 is covered by the new service for free. If they are the victim of identity fraud, they can call the Identity Fraud Assistance Line and get a referral to the Victim of Fraud Team. The team will then help them through the necessary steps to resolve their case so they can get on with their lives.

Direct Line is working with Experian, one of the biggest credit reporting agencies, giving customers access to their credit reports so that they can spot any suspicious activities. Once they’ve reported suspicious activity, the Fraud team

Posted on 30 May 2008 | 11:04 am