Don't plant your keys in your garden

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A staggering £774 billion1 worth of home contents is at the mercy of thieves today as 39 per cent of homeowners admit to hiding spare keys in case they misplace the originals.

New research from esure home insurance has revealed that seven per cent of those surveyed have been burgled by a thief who got into their house by using a hidden key.

The most popular places for spare keys to be hidden is under plant pots or under front door mats. Other concealed places include in a watering can, buried in a flower bed or hidden in a key safe designed to look like a garden ornament.

Homeowners should choose their hiding places carefully because if they can’t prove to their insurer that they took steps to properly conceal their keys - such as not choosing an obvious hiding place at the front of their house where they could easily have been spotted by an opportunistic thief - then a claim may not be paid out.

The study of 3,000 homeowners also revealed that more than two fifths (42 per cent) of those surveyed have left the house without locking the back door. A whopping 64 per cent have left their windows open when no-one was home while a third (34 per cent) have gone out without properly securing the front door. With staggering figures like these it isn’t a surprise to learn that a fifth of homeowners surveyed have been burgled.

Mike Pickard, Head of Risk and Underwriting at esure home insurance, said: "Most burglars are looking for an easy target and leaving keys hidden somewhere outside your home is practically inviting them in. Choosing well-known hiding places such as under the front door mat or easily accessible in an unlocked shed could reduce your likelihood of getting an insurance pay-out if your property was burgled without any signs of forcible entry.

Taking steps to prevent a burglary - from locking windows and doors to hiding valuables in a secure safe - are just a few simple things that you can do to ensure that your home and its contents stay as safe as possible."

The study also found the average person still keeps wads of cash in the house - in money boxes or piggy banks - rather than depositing it in banks.

Most folk are happy to keep more than £300 in cash and £153 of foreign currency at home. In addition, they hoard up to £610 of jewellery. Therefore, it’s surprising to hear that only one in five people have a domestic safe to house their most valuable contents.

And each room of the house has thousands of pounds worth of possessions - with the living room being the most expensive at an average of £4,719, according to the poll.

Most people questioned estimate their kitchen to be worth £4,196, the bathroom to total £2,402 and, in a three bedroom property, each bedroom to be worth about £3,990.

House contents also include £2,210 of dining room furnishings, £2,233 in the office or study and a further £2,117 of belongings in the garden shed or garage.

This means that the average UK household is at risk of having up to £30,976 worth of contents stolen or damaged by opportunist burglars.

And despite folk estimating their home contents to be worth more than £30,000, nearly one in ten (8 per cent) homeowners surveyed don't even know how many sets of spare keys they have given to friends or family or have been hidden somewhere outside their property.

Top 10 most popular outside hiding places for keys:

  1. Under a plant pot
  2. Under the door mat
  3. Under a stone
  4. In a flower pot
  5. In the garden shed
  6. Under a drain cover
  7. On top of one of the car tyres
  8. Buried in the flower bed
  9. In an outside cupboard
  10. Under a paving slab
Average value of house contents in the UK
£
Cash 364.66
Jewellery 610.87
Foreign currency 153.01
Living room 4,719.19
Kitchen 4,196.12
Bathroom 2,402.47
3 Bedrooms 11,970.33
Dining room 2,210.34
Office / study 2,232.73
Garage / shed 2,116.73

-ends-

esure's press contacts:

Emma Lloyd, Assistant Communications Officer: 01737 641309
Niki Bolton, Corporate Communications Manager: 01737 235070
Asia Manzoor, Public Relations Officer: 01737 641305
Adrian Webb, Head of Corporate Communications: 01737 641000
Email: pr@esure.com
An ISDN line is available for radio interviews.

Notes to Editors:

  1. SWNS conducted an online research survey via Onepoll which interviewed a random sample of 3,000 homeowners between 29th October and 2nd November 2009. Calculation: £30,976.45 (average value of house contents) x 25,000,000 (UK homeowners) = £774,411,250,000. (Source: UK National Statistics – www.statistics.gov.uk).

About esure:

esure was launched in 2001. The company offers car, home, pet and travel insurance over the internet and by phone. esure also offers car insurance cover through the brands Halifax, Sainsbury's, Sheilas' Wheels and more recently home insurance through the Sheilas' Wheels brand.