| Christmas and Home Insurance ? Beware of the Christmas Thief |
Get a fast home insurance quote  Granted, insurance is unlikely to be at the top of your Christmas shopping
list. However, adequate home contents insurance is more essential at Christmas
than ever. The lure of a houseful of presents is all too tempting for opportunistic
thieves. Every year thousands of burglars strike to do their own Christmas
shopping at the homeowner's expense. It's not only burglaries that put under-insured or non-insured home-owners
at risk at this time of year. Insurance companies also see an increase in
the number of general insurance claims and are urging policyholders to protect
themselves against accidental damage. Christmas tree lights and decorations,
for example, are a potential fire hazard. All light connections must conform
to the correct British Standards number and homeowners should remember to
not overload power sockets or leave flexes trailing across the floor and should
check that plugs have the correct fuses. And of course, burst water pipes
are another common cause for concern in cold weather. Tips to avoid Christmas Trauma Check your insurance policy:
Insurers often automatically increase the amount of home contents cover over
the festive period at no extra cost to you, the policyholder. The amount of
contents cover and the terms and conditions varies from insurer to insurer.
Contact your insurer to make sure that all your Christmas goods (food, presents,
and drink) will be covered under your existing policy. After the Christmas
rush, remember to add any new gifts you have received to your home contents
insurance policy; if they are over £1,000 (or sometimes £2,000)
in value, you may need to insure them separately.
Check whether there is a 24-hour helpline available 365 days of the year in
case disaster should strike.
Security:
- Alarms act as a deterrent to burglars. Insurers tend to favour NACOSS
approved alarms systems.
- Lock windows and doors securely. Using mortice deadlocks and rimlocks
that conform to British Standard 3621 will reduce your premiums by up to 10%.
- Keep Christmas presents out of sight of potential thieves.
- Close curtains when it gets dark .
- Dispose of boxes and wrappings carefully; these can act as an advert
to burglars for goods inside the house.
- Inform your insurer if you are going to be away for a long period of
time.
- If you are going to be away make sure you cancel milk and newspapers
and ask a neighbour to remove your post and keep an eye on your property.
An accumulation of any of the above will advertise to burglars that the house
is unoccupied.
- Leave lights and a radio on if you are out during the evening. Invest
in a timer switch if you are going on holiday.
- Mark all your property of value and take note of serial numbers. This
can help recover stolen goods.
- Keep all outbuildings, garages and sheds securely locked up with a
heavy-duty padlock.
Insurers that automatically offer a seasonal increase on sum insured over
Christmas:
- Esure: 15% increase from 1st December to 15th January.
- Tesco's: automatic 10% increase from 1st December to 15th January.
- Churchill: 10% increase from 1st December to 15th January.
- Budget: 10% increase from 1st December to 31st December
- Norwich Union Direct: increase of £3,000 for Christmas presents
and food from 1st December to 31st December.
- More Than: 10% increase from 1st December to 31st December.
- Direct Line: 10% increase for Christmas goods from 1st December to
31st December.
- Virgin: 10% increase from 1st December to 15th January.
- Zurich: sum insured increased by £3,000 from 1st December to
31st December.
- Saga: automatic increase of cover by 10% over Christmas period from
1st December to 31st December.
- Halifax: No seasonal increase. Standard policy has unlimited cover
on Christmas items. (This does not include certain single items and high value
items - check the policy wording).
- Barclays: No seasonal increase. Standard contents policy offers up
to £50,000 of cover.
Get a fast home insurance quote |
All of the insurance products and services mentioned on this
page are introduced by Insurancewide.com Services Ltd, which is authorised
and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Insurancewide?s service
is subject to its terms
and conditions |  |
|
|
6 Insurance Rip Offs
