Urban Jungle has done some risk pricing on TV soaps and yeah, if you lived there, then Home, Motor, Directors Liability and possibly Life insurance, would be impossible to quote on. Here’s the word on the potential Building claims;
Neighbours has topped analysis as the SAFEST fictional TV soap town to live in – based on home insurance claims that would have taken place over the last 30 years. The adventures of Charlene, Scott and other residents of Ramsay Street in the fictional Australian suburb of Erinsborough finally end this month having thrilled TV viewers since the 80s.
New analysis by insurance company Urban Jungle, reveals that rebuild costs based on the area and property affected means Ramsay Street residents would have claimed a total of £376,104 over 30 years – primarily due to two storms that wreaked havoc on the Australian suburb.
While all soaps have had their fair share of disasters it seems that the most severe are focused around the famous soapland businesses and community hubs – from fires in the Queen Vic, Corrie’s Underworld factory roof collapse and multiple explosions at Lassiters down under. However, just like in real life these incidents can have an impact on nearby residential property, meaning it’s important to have adequate, fair insurance in place.
Looking at incidents to soap residents’ homes, EastEnders would have seen the most home insurance claims of all major Soaps, totalling approximately £1.7million, based on four house fires – while six house fires and three farmhouse outbuilding explosions in Emmerdale, set in rural Yorkshire, would have resulted in claims totalling £1.54million.
EMMERDALE: A MAGNET FOR UNNATURAL CATASTROPHE
Interestingly, Emmerdale has suffered more large-scale disasters than any other soap, including the famous Beckindale airplane crash where a large number of residents’ homes were damaged. However, house rebuild costs based on its Yorkshire location are considerably lower compared to Albert Square and London, as it would be in the real world, so the total cost of claims would be significantly lower if they had the right insurance cover in place.
Buildings insurance is typically a stipulation of a mortgage agreement, but policy prices can vary considerably depending on several factors, including location and provider. With Urban Jungle offering fair policies starting from £5 a month, the examples from soaps show that having adequate insurance in place could save homeowners significant money and stress should something unexpected happen – whether it’s a large-scale rebuild, or repairing water damage, which is the most common claim for homeowners.
Some background on the Emmerdale plane crash episode from 1993;
https://emmerdalepastpresent.fandom.com/wiki/Plane_Crash_(1993/4)
The top home insurance claims on TV soaps from the past 30 years:
1. Neighbours: Total insurance claim of £376,104 including residential damage caused by 2 storms
2. Coronation Street: Total insurance claim of £384k including a house fire and sinkhole (what the tram crash and factory collapse only cost 384K to repair? – Baffled Ed)
3. Home and Away: Total insurance claim of £863,156 including a house fire and 3 storms
4. Hollyoaks: Total insurance claim of £983,000 including a flat fire, fire at student flats and a gas explosion
5. Emmerdale: Total insurance claim of £1,545,000 including 6 house fires and 3 barn explosions
6. EastEnders: Total insurance claim of £1,700,000 including 4 house fires
The rebuild cost is estimated based on location and size of property affected.
Laura-Jayne Tyler, soap opera expert, commented: “There have been scores of unimaginable disasters to rock our favourite soap characters and their properties over the years – bringing maximum drama to the globe’s best-loved television programmes. As we bid a tearful farewell to Neighbours, it’s comforting to learn that Ramsay Street was a relatively safe place to be!”
Jimmy Williams, CEO of Urban Jungle, added: “It seems like life is pretty risky in soapland – especially in Albert Square!”
“We hadn’t realised that everyone’s daily soap was such a good advert for why you need home insurance, though what you see on the soaps actually pretty well mirrors real life. Whether it was the big storms in February or the fires from the recent heatwave, we’ve been helping our customers with plenty of real life drama. By having your home insurance sorted, hopefully everything can be that little bit less dramatic!”
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