ABI acts to 'widen access' to home insurance

21/06/2008

The ABI organised an event for council housing providers and housing associations in order to work on improving access to home insurance for low-income families in the north-east of England.

Delegates met at the Quadrus Business Centre in Boldon, Tyne and Wear last week and took part in a workshop to pool ideas and resources.

It was hoped by the ABI that the event would bring together experts from the home insurance, housing and local government sectors who could share ideas for increasing the number of tenants who take out cover.

The ABI hope to advocate the use of the 'Insurance with Rent' scheme, which is designed to help local authority tenants access affordable home insurance and pay for it on a fortnightly or weekly basis along with their rent.

James King, assistant director of the ABI, said: "For people on low incomes, buying insurance is sometimes not a priority. However, it is often the most vulnerable who can benefit the most from insurance. The aim of this event is to share information about how we can all serve this section of society better in order to protect them against risk they cannot otherwise manage."

Meanwhile, the ABI released a report this week that calls for the government to improve the level of flood defence on UK homes or run the risk of many properties becoming "uninsurable" by home insurance firms.

The report stated that there should be tighter planning controls when building houses to make sure they are not constructed in high flood risk areas.

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