A recent study by Tesco Finance has looked at the damage we do in our own homes and found some startling results.
Children are one of the major culprits when it comes to damage around the home, racking up over GBP136 million worth of home insurance damage claims per year. Following on in value is the effects of alcohol, costing around GBP95 million in broken items and stains caused by spills. Following on from these is the damage caused by family pets, with a total of GBP87 million worth of damage every year from our faithful friends.
The biggest source of claims, for Tesco home insurance at least, is what they are calling horse play. Just messing around leads to a massive GBP325 million worth of damage and accounts for 25 percent of all contents insurance claims.
As costs rise so the amount needed to replace household items increases also. The need for home insurance is therefore greater than ever say Direct Line.
Having surveyed a selection of UK adults the insurer found that the typical cost of replacing or repairing damaged household items was around GBP200. The most common incidents were red wine spills, broken vases and damaged furniture. Each of these is covered with Direct Line home insurance and the peace of mind that cover brings, as well as the money it can save, is of real benefit to customers.
At the moment Direct Line have a special offer on their contents insurance, with free accidental damage cover provided to all new customers. In addition, when the time for renewal comes these same customers will also be eligible for a 10 percent discount as long as they have not made a claim.
According to Tesco Finance the cost of not changing home insurance companies last year totalled GBP26 million.
The study found that almost two thirds of people remained with their existing insurance providers when it came to renewal time, even though almost half of them saw the cost increase over the previous year. For around 4 million of them the increase was more than the level of inflation, said a Tesco Finance spokesman, even though only a small number of these had increased their cover or made a claim.
The advice that comes out loud and clear from Tesco is that everyone should at least get a couple of alternative quotes at renewal time to make sure they are getting the best home insurance deal available.
