Research from Nationwide Home Insurance of UK has revealed that one in five people do not have any buildings insurance and would not be covered in the event of damage caused by floods, storms, or a house fire.
Of those people who do have buildings insurance, almost 25% do not know what is covered under the policy. 14% have not taken out cover for the contents in their homes, whilst the majority of those questioned estimate the total value of their home contents to be between GBP10,000 and GBP20,000. This adds up to a significant number of items that many would be unable to afford to replace straight away. 17% of those with contents insurance admit to not knowing what is covered under the policy.
The research has also revealed that almost one third of those aged between 35 to 44 years don’t know what is covered under their buildings insurance or whether they are covered at all. However, those aged 45 years and over are more likely to have both buildings and contents insurance and claim to possess full knowledge of what is covered.
Robin Bailey, director for insurance business at Nationwide, said: It is surprising that so many people are prepared to take such a gamble on their homes and personal belongings when you consider how much time and money we all invest in our homes. You never know what is around the corner and for that reason it is vital that people are prepared by having adequate insurance.