The Abbey National is warning homeowners who use oil for heating to make sure it is insured as thefts of the valuable resource are on the increase.
A spokesman for the Abbey National confirmed that police forces from around the country are seeing a rise in oil thefts, with domestic dwellings being specifically targeted. Homeowners are being asked to check their home insurance policy documents as around 10 percent of policies do not cover heating oil.
This issue has grown in importance as the cost of oil has risen so much. Abbey National figures show that the price of oil has pretty much doubled since January, making it an interesting potential opportunity for potential thieves.
A study by Zurich Insurance has revealed that over 15 percent of property owners have had to get proper tradesmen in after struggling to do it themselves.
The biggest reason these people had for going down the DIY route was saving money, with a third of people citing this reason. However Zurich Insurance found that they typical cost of making right the damage caused came to GBP280. Home insurance knowledge was a little shaky on the subject too, with almost 75 percent of people not knowing if DIY disasters would be covered.
Also regarding home insurance the Zurich Insurance survey found that nearly half the respondents would not think to inform their insurer if major improvements to the property were to be made.
Get a great quote on Zurich Home Insurance today.
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.
