Uninsured burglary bill tops 200m pounds

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Burglary costs uninsured victims without any form of home contents insurance some 200 million pounds a year, figures have shown.

A quarter of households in the UK currently do not have any home insurance cover, leaving them exposed to a slice of the country's multimillion-pound bill that is left when victims are forced to replace their possessions out of their own pocket.

Claims for damage and theft of property, including burglaries, cost insurers around 3.2 billion pounds every year, and with the average claim standing at 1,260 pounds, the relatively minor overhead of home contents insurance and improved safety measures is a small price to pay.

Steve Fletcher, head of retail at Yorkshire Bank which carried out the research in collaboration with Clydesdale Bank, said: "It makes sense to take precautions to prevent burglaries from happening in the first place. But security measures are not fool-proof and you can still fall victim to a determined burglar.

"Adequate home contents insurance can't stop the crime from happening but it can ease the burden should the worst happen."

The research estimated that of the 600,000 burglaries that take place every year, up to 150,000 of them may not be covered by contents insurance.

Copyright © Press Association 2010

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