Big bags remain a must have accessory this spring but, according to Cheshire Building Society, the style-conscious are at risk of becoming more than just fashion victims.Recent statistics reveal more than 45 percent of people carry between £200 and £500 worth of personal belongings on them every day*. This includes mobile phones, mp3 players and laptops, not to mention wallets and purses.

As a result, the Society, which provides home insurance underwritten by Royal & SunAlliance, is urging people to check their possessions are adequately insured, particularly as they typically hold up to ten expensive items**, and a big bag means big bucks for criminals.

Karen Torson, Cheshire Building Society Partnerships Business Manager, comments: “Followers of fashion are fans of the over-sized handbag, however, it does mean people can pack more contents in.

“It is important that people don’t underestimate what their belongings are worth and should check that everything being carried around with them is covered by their home insurance policy for loss or theft.”

* Cheshire Building Society surveyed 318 people in September 2007.

** 90 per cent of people surveyed admitted carrying up to ten expensive items.

According to a study by Nationwide*, over one third (35%) of those questioned value their garden contents at between £250 and £1,000. With such a large amount of money being spent on the garden, it is important that homeowners make sure they are protected against garden thieves by ensuring they have adequate home insurance cover in place.

Claims for garden furniture and ornaments are among the most commonly received by Nationwide, which provides up to £1,000 worth of cover as standard for loss of, or damage to, contents in the garden.

Nationwide’s insurance director, Robin Bailey, said: “Spring is in the air and, if the rain holds off, some of us may be planning to spend time in the garden this Bank Holiday weekend. Items such as lawnmowers and garden furniture will be dusted off and may be left out in the open for long periods of time, resulting in easy pickings for opportunistic thieves and vandals. It is really important that these items are adequately insured against acts of theft or vandalism.

“We understand that customers want more from their insurance provider, which is why our home insurance includes up to £1,000 of cover for contents in the garden as standard. For customers switching to Nationwide, we will beat whatever they paid for their home insurance last year, or refund the difference up to £100**”.

Top tips for keeping contents in the garden safe:

1. Photograph expensive items such as potted plants, ornaments and furniture so that you are able to identify them if stolen;
2. Invest in some ground anchors which can be used to secure garden furniture and ornaments to the ground;
3. Don’t leave tools lying around the garden – these can be used as an aid to gain entry to your home;
4. Many of us keep items such as bikes, lawnmowers and garden tools in the shed – always make sure you lock the shed;
5. Cover up shed windows with curtains or blinds.

*Research based on a sample of 1,000 UK respondents, conducted by Marketing Sciences’ PanelWizard for Nationwide Building Society (December 2007).

The Welsh have amassed an estimated £1billion* worth of sports equipment in their homes, much of which is seldom used, according to new research from home insurer LV=.People in Wales have an average £1,224 worth of kit in their homes, £92 more than the UK national average (£1,132). You would be forgiven for thinking that there is some hope in combating the government projection that nearly 13 million adults in the UK will be obese by 2010**. However, scratch beneath the surface and much of the nations’ sporting equipment is mostly used for collecting dust.

The research by LV= found that in the average Welsh home, golf clubs, racquets and bikes worth over £434 have not been used in the last six months.

Despite having a plethora of sports accessories in our homes, we are always looking to accumulate more. Like the majority of people in the UK, Welsh adults seem to have the best intentions and epitomize the phrase ‘all the gear but no idea’. One in five (19%) buy brand new kit when they take up a new sport, with a further 12% buying second hand gear - before deciding if they are going to keep the activity up.

Kitted out in Wales

53% of homes in Wales contain at least one bike, yet nearly four in ten (38%) owners admit they haven’t sat in the saddle in the last six months. The pattern is repeated for owners of golf clubs; one in five households (19%) has at least one set of clubs and half (48%) of them haven’t swung them in the last six months.

It appears the level of energy required to use the equipment is not much of an indicator to the frequency of its use – 55% of anglers in Wales won’t have caught a thing in the past six months as they haven’t even used their rods.

The research from LV= also reveals that up to 644,800 homes in Wales have some form of home gym equipment including expensive multi gyms, exercise bikes, trampolines and treadmills, mostly only used occasionally.

Despite the high cost of sporting equipment, over 1.9 million people across the UK admitted to leaving their items open to theft, storing them unsecured in the garden, on display in the car, or in an unlocked shed.

Emma Holyer, Spokesperson for LV= home insurance said:“It’s easy to forget how much it would cost to replace the sporting equipment you have, unless you consider each item carefully and add up the total cost.

“We tend to think that the most costly things to replace are jewellery or electronics, but sporting equipment can cost thousands of pounds. People must ensure that if their bike is worthy of Lance Armstrong, or their golf clubs are up to Tiger Woods’ standard, they inform their insurer so that it is included on their home insurance.

“Homeowners should also ensure they have personal possessions cover. This not only covers items like mobile phones, money, laptops and bags, but also sports equipment when it is away from the home. As electronics become increasingly difficult to sell on, thieves are now targeting sporting equipment as it’s easy to sell on the black market.

“Some insurers don’t even cover equipment kept in sheds or garages, so home owners should check their insurance cover to see what is and isn’t covered.”

* based on 1.24 million households in Wales. 68% of homes in Wales and the West Country have sports equipment. 68% of 1.24million = 843200 homes. Average worth of sports equipment for in Wales = £1224.

£1224 x 843200 = £1,032,076,800

**Dept of Health forecast 2006

All figures unless stated are from Opinium Research.Opinium Research carried out a nationally representative poll of 2121 British adults between 15th and 19th of February 2008.

Household figures based on Government statistics that there are 24.7 million household in the UK.

With storms set to continue and worsen across the country, alarming new research(1) from Sainsbury’s Home Insurance reveals that 1.78 million homeowners are without buildings insurance and a further 656,000 people claim not to know whether they have this cover.

Neil Laird, Home Insurance Manager, Sainsbury’s said: “Thousands of homes could be at risk from storms this week so it’s alarming to see so many without buildings insurance. The growing number of weather-related instances really highlights the importance of having adequate cover in this area and unlimited buildings cover ensures peace of mind that you won’t be left underinsured should the unthinkable happen.”

Sainsbury’s Home Insurance, which provides unlimited buildings cover, reveals that its research suggests that female homeowners are far more likely to be without this cover than men. 1.055 million women (6%) admitted to not having buildings cover compared with 722,000 male homeowners (4%). On an age basis, interestingly, 8% of homeowners aged 65 and over and a further 8% of those aged between 25 – 34 admitted to not having buildings insurance – the highest percentage for any age group.

Surprisingly, when those homeowners without buildings insurance were asked why they did not have this cover, 39% said they felt it was not necessary. Only 2% said that they could not afford it.

Sainsbury’s Home Insurance offers the following advice to homeowners in the event of stormy weather:

• In the case of flooding, planning ahead will save time and improve your flood protection. Make sure for example, you –

• decide what you will do with furniture

• keep drains clear, ensuring they and the area around them is clear of debris

• keep a stock of sandbags if you know your area is liable to flood

• Damage to garden sheds may not be covered by certain policies – Sainsbury’s Home Insurance offers such cover

• If the damage is the result of your neighbour neglecting to adequately maintain their own property you may be able to reclaim costs from them

• Consult your insurer before arranging repair work

• Ensure that you use a qualified tradesman who can guarantee their work – Sainsbury’s Home Insurance offers Home Emergency cover with all claims work carried out by approved contractors and guaranteed for 12 months.

⁽¹⁾ Based on GfKNOP research conducted for Sainsbury’s Finance. 712 homeowners were interviewed between 2^nd and 4^th November 2007.

⁽²⁾ This is optional and requires an additional premium.
⁽³⁾ Additional cover can also be purchased at an additional premium.

Sainsbury’s Finance estimates that the insurance industry could receive as many as 3,250 home insurance claims as a result of last week’s earthquake, which reached 5.2 on the Richter Scale. It estimates that collectively these could run into tens of millions of pounds. However, with one in 20 households without buildings insurance, the bank warns that there will be a number of homeowners who will find themselves having to foot significant repair bills themselves.

Neil Laird, Sainsbury’s Home Insurance Manager, commented: “The recent earthquake just shows that you can never tell when exceptional circumstances may occur and you might need to make a claim. Unlimited buildings cover ensures peace of mind that you won’t be left underinsured should the unthinkable happen.”

A staggering 42 per cent of engagement rings are uninsured and a further 16 per cent of ring owners are unsure if they have insurance, according to new research(1) from Abbey Home Insurance.

As an estimated 1.8 million Brits prepare to propose to their partners this year, Abbey Insurance is urging these “proposers” to arrange insurance for their engagement rings as soon as they purchase them - or to check carefully that they are fully covered on their existing insurance policies. Approximately 27 per cent of engagement rings are covered by existing policies, according to Abbey.

Abbey also advises current jewellery-owners to review their home contents insurance regularly to ensure that rising precious metals prices don’t leave them underinsured. Abbey’s research suggests that on average people review their home contents insurance once a year (42 per cent) – but with the price of gold having risen 32% in 2007 alone and platinum also hitting record highs, Abbey warns this might not be enough.

Lloyd Wilson, Head of Abbey Insurance, said: “The number of people who don’t think about insurance for their engagement rings and other precious items is quite staggering.  With the average engagement ring costing around £1,200, it’s important to arrange insurance immediately if you’re one of the 1.8 billion planning to propose this year.

“Rising precious metals prices could also result in lack of full cover, so we would recommend that people review their home contents insurance at least every six months to ensure that all their valued items and heirlooms are fully covered.”

The average British household has approximately £1,785 worth of jewellery - £44 billion in total.  But Abbey’s research reveals that one in 10 Brits doesn’t have any home contents insurance at all and 18 per cent review their contents insurance cover less than once a year.

Abbey’s research also reveals:

• Engagement rings in the North of England and Midlands are the most likely to be uninsured

• 75 per cent of Brits own some form of valuable jewellery

• 14 per cent of Brits don’t have any form of insurance for their jewellery, with the Scots the least likely to insure their trinkets

1) Omnibus research amongst 1000+ adults conducted by ICM in January and February 2008

Floods Recovery Minister John Healey has met with representatives from the ABI (Association of British Insurers) and representatives of major home insurance companies for a progress report on action being taken to get those still in temporary accommodation following last summer’s floods back into their homes as quickly as possible.At the meeting the companies confirmed that heating costs of those temporarily living in caravans while their homes are being repaired are normally covered by policies. In a move to eliminate any confusion they also agreed to advise policyholders of the position.

Real progress is being made with £1billion claims paid out and more than half the fifteen thousand households who were in temporary accommodation now able to return home - three quarters of all households are expected to be back home by Easter. But John Healey is keen to ensure momentum is maintained and that outstanding issues are addressed.

John Healey said:

“A huge amount has been achieved following last summer’s floods and the insurance industry has played a key role in enabling this to happen. To support the recovery Government has made available up to £78million available to communities. But given many of those affected are owner-occupiers the insurance industry has a key role to play in helping communities recover from floods.

“That is why since June I have been holding regular meetings with the insurance industry to ensure everything possible is being done. The firm view is that the insurance industry has done a good job dealing with thousands of claims and I want to thank everyone involved for their efforts. But it is important to maintain momentum until everyone is able to move back home.

“I know from my visits to flood-hit communities that one of the key concerns for those in temporary accommodation - particularly caravans - is high fuel costs. So I am pleased that the companies I met today confirmed these costs are normally covered as part of policies and gave a commitment to contact policy holders to make this clear. I hope that this reassures people. I will continue to work closely with the insurance industry over the coming months as we continue to help communities get back on their feet and people back home.”

Nick Starling, Director of General Insurance and Health at the Association of British Insurers, said:

“Insurers have worked round the clock to deal with the 180,000 claims following last summer’s devastating floods. This work continues as insurers are doing everything possible to get those still in temporary accommodation back into their homes as quickly as possible. They are also keeping in contact with those who have returned home to make sure that there are no subsequent issues with repair work carried out.”

Background

Around 48,000 households were affected by last summer’s floods
As of mid-January around 8750 of these households remained wholly or partially displaced from their homes.

• Total costs of the floods are around £3bn
• Over £1bn in insurance claims have now been paid out.
• 15,000 households were in temporary accommodation
• Over half of these are back in their homes, with three quarters expected to be back by Easter.