Independent financial research company Defaqto has published a guide to help homeowners ensure they have adequate insurance in place to protect their property and possessions against a number of key risks this winter.
The onset of winter brings with it a number of potential challenges for homeowners, and Defaqto’s Guide to winter home insurance aims to help people prepare for and deal with a number of challenges they may face at this time of year:
The guide highlights wide-ranging variation between policies in terms of the type and level of cover they offer to protect homeowners against these risks, including:
Cover for the cost of alternative accommodation if someone’s home became uninhabitable, due to flooding or storm damage for example – where monetary limits are used, the level of cover ranges from £12,500-£100,000
Cover for damaged contents as a result of flooding for example – some policies apply specific limits for ‘high risk’ items such as televisions and computers, with these limits ranging from £750-£15,000
Increased contents cover for the Christmas period – 66 per cent of policies will automatically apply a ‘seasonal increase’ to cover the value of Christmas gifts people may be storing in their home; however, the level of increase varies from £1,000-£7,500 or from 5-20 per cent of the value of their contents ‘sum insured’
Cover for possessions away from the home – if someone is planning to visit friends or family this winter, only 8 per cent of policies will cover the items they take with them as standard, with 90 per cent covering these possessions as an optional extension of cover
As a result, it is important for people to ensure their current home insurance – or any policies they are considering – provides the type and level of cover they need this winter.
Mike Powell, Defaqto’s insight analyst for general insurance, said:
“Home insurance may not be the first thing that springs to mind as winter sets in. However, there are number of key seasonal risks that people need to be aware of which, if people aren’t adequately protected against, could leave someone with significant expense – or, even worse, without anywhere to live. As a result, it is important for homeowners to take stock over the coming weeks to ensure their existing home contents and buildings cover – or cover they are looking to arrange – provide adequate protection against potential winter-related dangers.
“When purchasing or reviewing home insurance, homeowners should not focus on the premium alone. Although the cost of any insurance is always going to be an important factor, the features and benefits offered by a policy should always be the main consideration. In reality, someone will only ever find out how good their insurance policy is when they need to make a claim – and choosing the cheapest option could be one of the most expensive mistakes someone ever makes, especially when they realise their insurance policy doesn’t provide the cover they expect or need.”
