Insurance News Archive
UK homes' £44bn insurance deficit
Britain's homes are underinsured to the tune of £44 billion, according to new research.
It is estimated 4.2 million homes are underinsured by an average of 25 per cent on contents insurance.
A study by ThecontentsSafe found the average home had £42,000 worth of contents so in the event of the worst happening property owners could be as much as £10,000 out of pocket.
Dean Cornwell, co-founder of ThecontentsSafe, explained that to make sure insurance covers as much as possible it is important to carry out a through inventory.
He said: "Recently a very close friend of mine lost all his possessions in a house fire.
"When he came to claiming on his insurance, he really struggled to list absolutely everything he owned and, as a result, estimated he lost perhaps £10,000 - despite the fact he was insured.
"With so many burglaries, fires and even tragedies like the Boscastle flood or Birmingham tornado, the threat to home contents is very real."
He added that without the ability to list everything that is owned if disaster strikes, Britons are leaving themselves at high risk of never even replacing those lost goods.
21 Aug 2006
