Not Doing Enough to Secure Homes, says esure Home Insurance

It is a message that is regularly heard coming from insurers all over the world – make sure your home is properly secured and avoid taking unnecessary risks with your belongings.

Now esure Home Insurance is adding to the calls, claiming that homeowners are still taking too few steps to protect their properties. This includes homeowners failing to properly conceal their keys outside and failing to securely shut doors and windows.

With Sainsbury’s Finance recently reporting that burglaries and other types of theft are on the rise, the message, based on research carried out by the home insurance firm, comes at a particularly important time.

The results of their study found that as high of 42% of those asked admitted to leaving the house whilst failing to lock the back door, with a further 64% failing to shut windows in their absence.

Home Insurance companies expect homeowners to do everything they can to properly secure their homes and if they find that the owner is at fault following a burglary, they could decide not to pay out.

“Most burglars are looking for an easy target and leaving windows and doors unlocked is practically inviting them in,” said Mike Pickard, the Head of Risk and Underwrting of esure, “Homeowners should make sure their property is as secure as possible because if they can’t prove to their insurer that they took steps to keep their home and contents safe – then a claim may not be paid out.”

The Home Insurer is particularly concerned by the number of people hiding a front door key outside in the event of losing the original key or misplacing it when returning from a night out. 39% of those surveyed said that they hid it in the garden. esure urges people to choose hiding places that are sensible and if possible, avoid doing it at all (particularly as you could be spotted by a thief doing so).

They cite 7% of people who have been burgled as a direct result of someone finding the spare key hidden outside. Insurers are unlikely to pay out if a thief was easily able to find their way into a property.

Last month it was also reported by LV= that people are hiding to many important documents in the same place, so whilst personal belongings and property are being left at risk, people are also leaving themselves open to ID theft.

Sources: esure Press Release, Sainsbury’s Finance Press Release & LV= Press Release

Victims of Recent Downpours Facing Spiralling Excesses

Reports in both the Guardian and on the BBC News website are highlighting the rising costs of insurance premiums for those that have been hit hard by the recent flooding in areas such as Cumbria.

The North West County has been amongst numerous places across the United Kingdom to suffer at the hands of intense flooding and insurance providers have used it as a reason to express the need for adequate cover in such conditions.

However, despite home owners carrying out various tasks to protect their home, as well as doing their best to minimise the damage by moving possessions to higher levels, insurance companies are cited to be rarely helping them.

As a result, despite their best efforts, there are homes that are becoming virtually worthless and impossible to sell on because of the insurance excesses caused by flooding.

As a result the National Flood Forum, a charity that provides advice and support to people who are victims of flooding, is urging insurance companies to change its attitude towards flood victims and protection measures that are in place.

They feel that it is unfair that despite work to protect the home, some of which can stretch into tens of thousands of pounds, high insurance premiums and excesses are still being applied to properties.

The Guardian newspaper has spoken to various people that have succumbed to flooding, citing insurance figures that have more than doubled since 2008. They refer to AXA, who have since imposed a maximum limit for flood excesses of £10,000.

The insurance industry has insisted that they do not increase the flood excess on the majority of properties. A press release from MoneySupermarket.com earlier in November pointed out that insurance providers have improved their handling of flooding in recent years and home owners should still ensure they are taking preventative measures to minimise damage.

Earlier in the month, the BBC also pointed out that the government and the insurance industry had agreed that the providers would continue to insure homes that are at risk of flooding, with the real difficulty being the switch to another provider in the future.

Sources: Guardian.co.uk, BBC News and MoneySupermarket.com Press Release

A Quarter of Burglary Victims Affected

When applying a monetary figure to the consequences of suffering a burglary, the first task that might come to mind is weighing up the costs of numerous possessions, such as the television set, a DVD collection or other items around the house.

However, if recent figures are to be taken into account then home owners should take other costs into account – those associated with identity theft.

According to LV, the Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society, around a quarter of those that have suffered a burglary in recent times have also succumbed to ID theft, with the average cost of solving the problem amounting to £2,150.

As a result, the Friendly Society, which provides home insurance and other policies, has offered help to those that are covered by its home insurance policy. Those with LV’s home insurance will now be able to access an identity fraud helpline, which is free of charge.

LV= points out that when burglars enter a home, it can often be too easy for them to find  personal documents as the majority of home owners keep them in the same place. They quote an anonymous fraudster that highlights the issue:

“So many people make my job really easy by sticking all the key documents together in one place. And for all the family too, so you often get three or four identities for the price of one, so to speak”

Fraudsters can easily steal a person’s identity with items such as credit cards, ID cards, National Insurance cards and statements from the bank. As a result, they are highly valued on the black market, making them prized possessions for would-be thieves.

So as well as ensuring that home owners have home insurance, it is being urged that they also have security measures in place to protect themselves. This includes ensuring that personal documents are secure and are not all located inside say, a single handbag.

The problem could be of particular concern if statistics from Sainsbury’s Finance are taken into account from November. From the beginning of April to the end of June 2009, the insurer states that 67,000 claims on home insurance were made as a result of theft.

Sources: LV= Press Release Sept 2009 and Sainsbury’s Finance Press Release Nov 2009