9th January 2018 – Over 5 million*UK adults may be unnecessarily paying double to protect their personal items by simply not checking the terms and conditions within their contents insurance policies, according to research by comparethemarket.com. In a poll of over 2,000 adults, 1 in 10 (10%) revealed they had taken out separate gadget insurance on items already covered by their contents policy, because they simply didn’t have either the time or inclination to check whether they were already covered.
The research suggests that the lack of understanding amongst consumers of what their contents insurance covers them for appears to be the principal source of the confusion. Over one third (36%) of those who believe they may be paying twice to insure their gadgets do so because they don’t think that their contents insurance covers their gadgets.
Despite some people being over-insured, there is still a considerable amount of scepticism around claiming for gadget damage. Over half (59%) of people said that the policies are not ‘worthwhile’, while two thirds (65%) think the extra cost is a ‘waste of money’. Over one in ten (15%) also fear that the insurance provider will not pay out, demonstrating a significant mistrust among consumers when it comes to gadget insurance. In fact, a fifth (22%) of those who have damaged their personal gadgets have admitted to paying for the repair upfront – double those who claimed on their insurance (11%).
However, some risk-averse customers have deliberately chosen to take out additional cover for their goods. A quarter (28%) did so because they do not want to affect their no-claims bonus on their contents insurance, while a similar figure (29%) did so “just to be safe”.
The research also showed that consumers are far more likely to take out separate insurance for white goods, such as fridges, washing machines and televisions, than for handheld technology such as smart phones and tablets, as over one fifth (24%) of people have double-insured their household goods.