There were concerning stats in today's Property Industry Eye (PIE) talking about renters contents insurance. They quoted a YouGov poll survey (commissioned by Paymentshield) that found 54% of people living in a rented property don't have contents insurance. Furthermore, 16% of surveyed residents reported suffering a fire, flood, theft, burst water pipe, lost keys or damage to belongings in the last year.
So why are so many people taking the risk of not being covered?
According to Reagan Bradley, our Operations Director, "Around 8 years ago it was made illegal for agents to enforce residents getting contents insurance. Before this, many agents used to sell it as a mandatory thing to take with a tenancy. When it was made illegal, agents got scared essentially and stopped even mentioning it. Now it’s incredibly underdiscussed."
To us, the right thing to do is give people the information they need to make the best choice for them.
Lucy Shapiro, a member of our Team Support, says "Most owners will have insurance that covers damage to their rental property, but this won't extend to your belongings. So the need for contents insurance comes down to: if you had to replace everything right now, could you do it?"
"These days, with more people working from home than ever before, it's also important to know if your potentially expensive equipment is covered by your employer, or if you'd be responsible if it were to be lost or damaged."
"I strongly advise residents to get contents insurance. If leaks etc happen and damage their belongings, it's not covered under building insurance. I've seen it happen many times" says Hollie, one of our star Asset Managers.
The article in the Property Industry Eye really opened my eyes. I'll be honest - I haven't been the most diligent with this myself.
So I went onto Compare The Market to get a quick idea of the monthly cost for contents insurance. Lo and behold, it's very affordable! I was quoted less than £8/month for £50,000 of cover with reasonable excess.
Of course, your quote will range depending on the total value of your belongings, the excess you choose, the supplier, and a few other factors. The point is, it really is worth knowing what your options are to make the best informed choice.
PIE quotes Paymentshield’s head of business development, Rana Ali: "The research also revealed that 39% of renters do not feel confident when it comes to understanding what services contents insurance products provide, and 41% feel they are not confident enough that they’d have the right knowledge to buy the right contents insurance policy."
Our residents have the opportunity to discuss contents insurance with our external referencing company, HomeLet, as well as JustMoveIn, who help with essential home move admin like setting up broadband, gas and electricity.
Whatever the right choice is for you, we want you to be confident and informed!
To read the full PIE article click here.
