Sainsburys Bank home insurance division has found that just short of 10 million people are thinking of planting trees in their gardens this year and would like to warn them about the threat of subsidence.
The main advice given by Sainsburys Bank is to select a tree that will be of a suitable size for the garden and also to plant it a good distance away from the house. If homeowners do not follow this advice they may find an increased risk of subsidence and the need for an insurance claim. Leylandii and Willow are two of the most troublesome trees it has been found.
A Sainsburys Bank spokesman revealed that home insurance claims for subsidence have cost British insurers over GBP700,000 per day over the last 5 years. It is therefore important to be aware of the risks before going ahead with planting a tree.
Over 22 percent of families with children under five have had toys taken from outside their homes according to a Halifax home insurance survey.
The most common item to be taken was a childs bicycle, making up almost 1 in 5 of all home insurance claims from those surveyed. Prams and buggies were also a popular target for thieves, no doubt driven by the costs of such items being quite high. The advice from the Halifax insurance people is to put items away safely when not in use, using a garden shed or bringing them into the house.
A Halifax spokesman understood the potential difficulties of being able to put everything away at some times, especially during the Summer when children are in and out of the house all day, but it is worth doing to avoid the psychological stresses it can cause, even if they have contents insurance in place to cover the financial cost.
The age of 46 has been found to be the point where own the greatest value of possessions according to a More Than survey.
At this age we average just under GBP41,000 worth of possessions it has been found, with the next best age being 28, when the figure is a little over GBP33,000. However over half of us actually have no idea of the value of items they own, which is a pretty important point when it comes to arranging adequate home insurance.
For anyone wanting to work out their own possessions value More Than Insurance have very kindly added a calculator to their website that will do just this. So pop along and work out whether you have enough home insurance cover today.
