Five things you didn’t know about home insurance

Often considered the biggest financial asset which we can obtain throughout our lives, our homes are sometimes taken for granted. Roughly five million homes are not covered by home insurance, despite the widespread availability of the product within the UK’s diverse insurance market, and ignorance could be partly to blame for this – so what don’t you know about home insurance in the UK?

1. You don’t want to live at number 243

Statistically these houses (and not those numbered 13 as might be expected) are the unluckiest in the UK with homeowners twice as likely to make a claim as anyone else. According to a report in The Daily Telegraph, 45% of people living at number 243 made a claim between 2008 and 2011.

2. There is more than one type

With the biggest insurance industry in Europe, it is understood that Brits can sometimes get confused over the number of different policies and types of insurance which are offered. Home insurance can be split into numerous types and there are plenty of variables for homeowners to consider when choosing their level of cover.

As a general rule, there are three main types of home insurance for you to choose from: contents insurance, buildings insurance and comprehensive home insurance. The former will only cover the personal possessions within your home whilst buildings insurance provides financial protection for the physical structure. Comprehensive home insurance combines the two products together to offer the highest level of cover.

3. Insurance claims are expected to rise in 2012

Due to the large number of events that are scheduled in the UK for the coming year, house insurance claims are expected to grow as Brits either leave their homes vacant to attend parties or host their own celebrations. Either situation places your home at risk and that means those five million homeowners without insurance could be facing expensive bills this summer.

4. Burglaries are prolific

Protecting your home from harm doesn’t just involve safeguarding it from natural disasters and accidents; you need to take preventative measures against burglars too. Burglaries are surprisingly common these days, with one occurring every 37 seconds and one fifth of homes experiencing more than one of these events each year.

These statistics are made even more shocking when you realise that property is stolen in 40% of burglaries yet only half of victims have their contents fully protected with insurance.

5. Automatic renewals waste money

An average saving of £125 can be made on annual home insurance costs simply by visiting home insurance comparison sites and choosing a better deal. In total, automatic renewals cost UK citizens more than £600 million a year and that means that something as simple as filling out an online form can save you a significant amount of cash.