Halloween is just around the corner, which means you might expect a few visits from ghosts, zombies, and other creepy creatures on your doorstep, but what can you do if you suspect your happy home has become a haunted house?
To bring in the spooky season, we thought we would bust a few myths about paranormal insurance claims.
Myth 1: A ghost broke my vase
If you’ve ever watched a scary movie, you’ll know that ghosts breaking household objects like vases is a classic creepy scene.
While ghost stories can be fun at Halloween, insurers usually need evidence of a covered event or accidental damage when assessing a claim.
Your vase might instead break due to other unseen causes, like a gust of wind, a vibration knocking it off a shelf, or a pet pushing it over.
Myth 2: Haunted houses get increased insurance premiums
If you've ever thought you've seen a ghost, home insurance probably wasn't your first concern. However, some people believe that reports of paranormal activity can affect a property's home insurance premium.
The truth is this isn’t the case. Insurers assess more tangible, physical risks when deciding on a home insurance premium, rather than relying on paranormal reports or unverified sightings.
Things that will typically affect your premium might include risks in your local area, or economic factors like inflation. Unverifiable claims about your property, including reported hauntings, aren’t typically factors used when calculating home insurance premiums.
Myth 3: A poltergeist started a fire
In folklore, poltergeists are a type of ghosts that make loud noises, throw objects across rooms, or causes other physical disturbances like fires. This has led some people to assume that unexplained fires in their homes were started by ghosts, even though other explanations are much more believable.
Insurance policies will only cover fires started by certain causes, and it’s very unlikely that you’ll see a supernatural being listed in the small print.
Cooking accidents are responsible for most house fires in the UK, but other common causes include electrical failures, unattended open flames, and smoking materials. Our guide to fire safety at home highlights common causes. If your home has experienced a fire, you may want to consider whether any of these options played a role before jumping to any paranormal conclusions.
Myth 4: Strange noises in the walls must be ghosts
When talking about spooky occurrences, you often hear people mention “things that go bump in the night”, but could they really be talking about ghosts? If you’ve ever been woken up at night and heard an unfamiliar sound coming through the walls, you might jump to the conclusion that you’re being haunted.
In most cases, however, there are plenty of other explanations for noises coming from your walls that don’t involve the undead. Water pipes are a common cause of strange noises in the night, as changes in pressure or temperature cause them to creak or clank into place. You might also be hearing noise from a pest infestation, so keep an eye out for other telltale signs like animal droppings or tracks.
Structural issues can also cause sounds, so if you’re in an older building that hasn’t been renovated in a while, you may just be hearing the effects of daily wear and tear.
Myth 5: Haunted houses can’t be insured
Our final myth is the belief that if a house is haunted, you won’t be able to get it insured. This is another common myth, as it’s not based on any physical evidence, but you still may hear it passed around in scary stories from time to time.
Almost any home can be insured, but it can be difficult to find a policy that covers buildings that are more prone to damage or accidents. This includes disaster-prone areas (like eroding coastlines or flooding valleys), remote areas with no immediate emergency services, old buildings in disrepair, unoccupied homes, or properties that are undergoing extensive renovations.
If any of these apply to your property, then you may find it harder to look for an appropriate insurer. Luckily, there are specialist government schemes to help those in hard-to-insure homes find the cover that they need. However, if you’re running on the assumption that a spooky sighting affects your chance of finding a policy, you’re mistaken.
Stay protected this Halloween
While things that go bump in the night can still give you a scare, the real risks around your home are usually far less mysterious. From accidental damage to fire and stormy weather, having the right cover in place can help give you peace of mind.
To help protect your home from life’s everyday surprises, get a quote today and see if you could save with esure.
