£50bn of goods lacking home contents insurance

by Richard Kilner

Story link: £50bn of goods lacking home contents insurance

Norwich Union has conducted research revealing that over two million people are putting possessions worth over £20,000 in jeopardy by not taking out home contents insurance.

The research also shows that more people who live in their own homes have home contents insurance compared to those who rent. The survey says that 72% of those in privately rented homes (almost three million people) do not have cover, which leaves over £50bn of goods uninsured.

A high degree of complacency is revealed by the research, including the facts that of those asked 43% said they were unconcerned by the prospect of burglary, and 36% were not worried by the chances of fire or flooding destroying their goods.

The reasons given for not taking out home contents insurance varied. The most prevalent was the high cost of taking out insurance, cited by 30%, with the second reason being that not enough value property was owned to make the insurance coverage worthwhile (cited by 16%).

Due to the high property prices, it seems that many renters view insurance as an optional extra to be considered after the costs of renting, paying bills and council tax, and other financial commitments. Barely over half (55%) of those aged between 18-24 had a policy in place.

Jasmine Birtles, an expert in finance from Moneymagpie.com, was unsurprised by the high numbers of young people lacking insurance, blaming rising living costs (and, in some areas, increasing rent).

Birtles explains that many of those lacking insurance are young professionals with large levels of disposable income spent on expensive luxuries, such as hi-tech goods or designer clothing. Some have little concept of how much their property is worth, and how attractive a target it is for burglers, she adds.

In addition, many people store their property without insurance in garages, according to Legal and General. Furniture, gardening tools and sports equipment are commonly stored in garages without consideration as to whether or not they are covered by the home insurance policy.

Legal and General’s head of communications, Ruth Wilkins, stated that though outbuildings or garages are excellent for storage purposes it is vital that the insurance situation should be checked.