26th
Mar 2021
More than half of tenants (52%) have not bothered to take out home insurance according to a lender’s recent survey.
The research claims that this in spite of the average contents value of around £25,000.
The research highlights that the highest cause for claims is down to ‘accidental damage’.
The lender surveyed over 1,000 private tenants with 19% saying that it was the landlord’s job to arrange and pay for the contents’ insurance; although it does turn out that 19% of tenants are actually paying for buildings insurance which is the landlord’s responsibility.
The lender acknowledges that landlords are now taking steps to combat this however 39% still require their tenants to provide contents insurance.
67% of landlords ask potential tenants before a tenancy agreement to provide proof of this before it can be signed.
It has been estimated that as many as two million tenants could be without contents insurance cover and would be in breach of their tenancy agreement.
The lender’s head of general insurance Darren Black says: “It’s concerning that many renters don’t have contents insurance and are living under the mistaken belief that their landlord has cover in place to protect their belongings if they are lost, stolen or damaged.
“When finances are tight, insurance can seem like an unnecessary expense, but without it you could end up losing everything you own.
“The majority of home insurance claims are for accidental damage, particularly at the moment when many of us are spending much more time at home.”
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