Tenants fall short on home contents insurance

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by Gill Montia

According to a survey from Zurich Insurance, large numbers of UK tenants are remiss about their personal possessions insurance.

The research established that around £8 billion of goods are not protected against bad weather or crime.

Thirty-seven per cent of respondents said they had no home contents cover, despite the fact that 33% of the private renters questioned estimated that their goods were worth over £10,000, with some individual items worth over £1,500.

Around one-fifth of the uninsured estimated that it would take over two years to replace all their possessions if they were stolen or damaged, and one-third admitted that in the event of a total loss, replacement would be unachievable.

One in 10 tenants believed that their house contents were covered by their landlord’s insurance, while one in four were convinced that the risk of loss or damage was too small to bother with insurance.

Fifty-six per cent of those without insurance were too committed with other bills for the expense of home contents cover and one-fifth preferred to spend their money in other areas, such as taking holidays (10%), socialising (9%) and buying new clothes (7%).

Steve Gilbert, home underwriting manager for Zurich Insurance says: “Whether renters are simply willing to risk their goods, or if it’s a matter of confusion over who’s responsible for cover, we urge all renters to take some time to investigate their position, consider their risk and see if they can really afford not to be covered.”