Home Insurance Customers Are Confused on Small Print, Says Survey

Are you confused about insurance policies? You are not alone.

According to this research many Brits don’t really understand all the T&Cs. First, the small print can often be written in legalese, which is slightly archaic. Secondly, in an era of english being a second language, even for many people actually born in the UK, does the industry need to add AI translation links to online policy docs?

In any event, brokers and insurers sometimes need to make it much clearer that the company selling you the cover, recovering your vehicle, or processing the claim, or pursuing a PI claim, are all different companies. People do think that the phoning a claim to the company or brand that sold them their insurance is the first port of call when things go wrong.

When it comes to houses many people think they are buying a policy that will pay the market value, not the rebuild value. They simply want that cash value to be paid out in the event of a flood or fire, or death of a partner. Again, this isn’t what Buildings and Contents actually offers, which is more of a bespoke contract with various exclusionary clauses.

All that detail on the way the insurance chain actually works, and what will, or will not, be considered as a claim, could be made much clearer front and centre. Just an idea.

Here’s the word;

Fewer than one in five adults in the UK read and understood their current home insurance policy before they purchased it, according to new research. Only a fifth of Brits (19%) confirmed that they understood their policy when they took it out, whilst almost one in ten (8%) revealed that they only looked at price when comparing and assessing their options for cover. Women were revealed to be more likely to conduct due diligence before purchasing, with a fifth (22%) saying they read and understood their policy compared to just 16% of men.

According to the data, only one in ten Brits believe that they are covered for more than they need, 10% are confident they know their property rebuild cost and only 15% think they know the value of their belongings.

The findings from the survey – conducted by specialist home insurance provider Homeprotect – raise concerns that households across the UK may be inadequately covered for their specific circumstances and requirements.

On the results, Chief Customer Officer at Homeprotect, David Joyson, said: “It’s often easy to focus on price when it comes to insurance products and be put off by what can seem like lengthy policy documents, but it’s really important to understand what you’re buying and make sure you have the right policy for your personal requirements.

“It is always best to shop around to get the best possible price, but it’s also vital to answer questions accurately and check what is and isn’t covered before purchasing. For example, failing to disclose your property’s proximity to a river or supplying the incorrect usage for a property – such as not disclosing a property is being used as a holiday let with paying guests – could mean that if you needed to make a claim, it might be rejected.

“Taking a small amount of time to ensure you have the right cover and checking your policy booklet can give you peace of mind and protect you from being left out of pocket should you be unfortunate enough to need to make a claim.”

From ‘excesses’ to ‘endorsements’ there are a lot of terms in insurance that consumers might come across when looking at their policy documents. To help explain some common home insurance terminology, Homeprotect has put together a glossary of home insurance terms to help people understand what these mean and how they might relate to their policy.

Homeprotect specialises in buildings and contents insurance for a wide range of properties, including those which may struggle to secure policies with traditional providers, such as homes with a history of flooding, unoccupied and holiday homes or people with poor credit, financial problems or previous convictions.