Under insuring on your house insurance is a risky proposition says Santander

Published: 5/7/2012

According to a recent survey conducted by Santander over 40% of homeowners who took out a home insurance policy did not read their insurance agreement before taking out a policy.

Homeowners that do not read the full terms and conditions of the contract run the risk of being under insured, as they are not fully aware of what their insurance cover actually covers.

Research has shown that some policyholders who thought that they were covered for a particular level of coverage like accidental damage, were in fact not covered at all, and face the expensive task of replacing the items at their own expense. This of course could have been avoided had they read the level of cover included on their insurance policy.

All homeowners want the best level of cover at the cheapest price for buildings insurance and contents insurance, but they must check to see that the cover meets their insurance needs before taking out a policy.

Not all policies are the same and that is why it is so important to read the terms and conditions very carefully making sure that it does in fact meet the right level of cover to protect their home and their possessions.

See our home insurance comparison table for more information or our guides and tips pages.

Sainsburys Bank Sees Many Brits Without House Insurance

Results from a recent Sainsburys Bank survey show around 4.7 million adults in the UK are without home contents insurance cover. The most insured area in the UK is Yorkshire and Humberside, where 96 percent of people have contents insurance. This contrasts with London, the least insured place in the country, where only 78 percent of people have cover. Sainsburys Bank urge people without home insurance to get cover as it offers peace of mind and financial cover for what can end up as a significant sum. With regard to the reasons for not having contents insurance the main reason given was that it simply was not required. This was followed by it being too costly. A Sainsburys Bank spokesman suggested these people should firstly tot up the value of their possessions and then check online to see how inexpensive home contents insurance can be.

Students Need Cover Too

Esure are reminding the new students headed for university this year that home insurance cover is something that should not be overlooked. The typical student will have around GBP1,500 worth of items they take with them when they go to university and without proper home insurance cover this could all be lost. Parents often help out with student insurance cover, though Esure found nearly a quarter of them had not thought about the matter. Cover can be arranged quite easily for most students, sometimes having their own policy or alternatively using existing home insurance that their parents have. A number of insurers will include separate cover for students accommodation on the main home policy said Esure.

Almost A Quarter Of Families Have Toys Stolen Says Home Insurer

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.

Under insuring on your house insurance is a risky proposition says Santander

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Sainsburys Bank Sees Many Brits Without House Insurance

Students Need Cover Too

Almost A Quarter Of Families Have Toys Stolen Says Home Insurer