The Intermediary – June 2025 - Flipbook - Page 58
P RO T E C T I O N
Opinion
Little-known cover:
Maximising home
insurance
T
oo oen when
consumers are
navigating the world
of home insurance
alone, it isn’t given
the consideration it
deserves. There are a number of risks.
One is underinsurance: consumers
not having adequate protection to
meet their needs. Another is cover
confusion or crossover: consumers
either not realising they can claim
for something, or holding separate
policies that might not be necessary.
Many people today take out
standalone insurance policies for
things like their phone or engagement
ring, not realising that they might
already be covered for that through
their home insurance, or that the
most economical way to protect those
items might be to add them on to their
home insurance instead of opting for a
standalone policy.
This is one of the many areas where
advisers can add immense value, by
facilitating a conversation around
these finer points. When we’ve
conducted research with consumers
over the years, it’s clear that the
journey of purchasing insurance via
a price comparison site doesn’t suit
everybody, as we’ve found that the sites
can sometimes leave people feeling
unsure about their cover.
In 2023, almost a quarter of our
survey respondents stated they lack
confidence in what the policy covers
when purchasing a policy via a
comparison site.
Advisers can play a really important
role in ensuring their clients are
fully clued up, and in flagging some
commonly overlooked areas. It
also enables advisers to more easily
demonstrate the value of a product,
and – in some instances where
consumers are paying for additional
58
The Intermediary | June 2025
cover where they don’t need to – could
help them to save money.
Here’s a look at some of the lileknown areas that consumers could
see covered by a comprehensive,
quality policy, which they might
find surprising.
Mobile phones
Perhaps one of the biggest culprits for
cover duplication is mobile phones.
Typically, home insurance will cover
phones within the home for loss and
damage if the client has taken out
optional accidental damage cover,
which could work out cheaper than
taking out a separate policy.
Despite this, phones are oen
forgoen about, with people perhaps
more commonly associating
accidental damage with protecting
sofas or carpets.
Some form of mobile phone the
cover within the home is usually
included as standard within a home
insurance policy. Loss, the and
accidental damage for a mobile away
from the home is usually covered
within a personal possessions add-on.
With snatch phone thes on the rise –
rising by 150% year-on-year according
to Government figures – it’s a clear
area in which advisers can emphasise
the value of this cover.
Aside from phones, there any many
things that clients might not be aware
they could claim for if they opt for the
‘personal possessions’ optional extra
when purchasing their policy.
While people might typically think
about things like bikes, jewellery or
cameras, quality personal possessions
cover also extends to money and credit
cards outside the home, too.
Digital information
Consumers might not realise that they
can typically claim up to £2,000 for
LOUISE PENGELLY
is proposition director
at Paymentshield
the loss of electronic data downloads,
beer known as digital assets.
This could be an online music or
film library worth hundreds or even
thousands of pounds, or treasured
photo albums in digital form that have
become compromised.
Garden and freezer
Contrary to popular belief, contents
don’t have to be locked away in the
house, garage or shed to be covered by
home insurance. A quality policy will
protect ‘contents in the open’ too. This
means valuable belongings like garden
furniture, barbeques, pizza ovens and
trampolines.
Plants in the garden is another good
one for any green-fingered clients.
This tends to be covered as standard in
highly rated policies, and in our case
we cover up to £2,000.
If a freezer unexpectedly breaks
down, it’s not just the cost of the item
itself that policyholders will need
to consider, but also the value of the
contents. Many people don’t know
that spoiled food is oen covered by
their home insurance.
Being armed with some of these
lile-known examples can serve
advisers well in highlighting the
differences between home insurance
products, and provide practical
demonstrations of why prices may
vary – in turn, bringing the value of a
policy to life a bit more for a client.
For any advisers wanting to brush
up on their product knowledge, our
GI Academy is full of resources to help
them feel more confident when it
comes to discussing general insurance
with their clients. ●
