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Variation in home insurance policies leave homeowners at risk

Variation in home insurance policies leave homeowners at risk

Thursday, 20 October 2011 10:09 AM

The wide variation in home insurance policies may leave homeowners at risk of buying inadequate cover, warns Defaqto.

Some 85 per cent are happy to purchase their home insurance online without professional advice, according to a recent survey by the independent financial research company.

This places greater pressure on individuals to make sure they choose the policy which offers the right cover.

Mike Powell, Defaqto's insight analyst for general insurance, warns that playing a risky game with valuable assets such as homes and contents could backfire.

He said: "Price should not be the primary basis for comparison – after all, buying the cheapest cover available could end up being the most expensive option if it doesn't provide adequate cover for someone's home.

"In particular, if a policy offers a number of key features as optional, but someone disregards them without considering whether they actually need them, their policy could end up falling short."

Recent analysis by Defaqto of 304 home contents insurance policies found that 79 per cent offered accidental damage as an optional extra, rather than as standard.

Legal expenses are optional on 67 per cent of policies, home emergency on 40 per cent, identity fraud and plants in the garden 11 per cent and loss of water five per cent.

Defaqto offer a Star Ratings system aimed at helping people understand the overall cover provided by different policies.

The Defaqto survey was conducted online and was completed by 2,500 people.

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Thursday, 20 October 2011 10:09 AM

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