What are the most common UK home insurance claims?

In 2023, at the time of publishing, there are approximately 35 million UK home insurance policies¹. Recent data shows 30% of home insurance pay-outs were related to water damage.²

This article explores what the most common home insurance claims are and what you can do to mitigate the risks of becoming another claims statistic.

Accidental damage

Claims for accidental damage are in the top three most common home insurance claims. Accidental damage insurance covers individual one-off events such as a ball smashing a window or spills on a carpet. It doesn’t cover damage which happens over time, for example, a leaking roof or faulty window caused by shrinkage. Making sure you understand what your home insurance policy covers is vital in protecting your property properly.

Escape of water

‘Escape of water’ accounts for around one third of home insurance claims in the UK³. ‘Escape of water’ describes water damage to your property and contents caused by a problem in your home, such as damage caused by leaking pipes, blocked toilets, and burst pipes in freezing weather. Water damage can also result from escape of water from neighbouring properties, such as flats or terraced houses.

Is ‘theft of contents’ also on the rise?

Contents theft from homes, including theft of items stored in outbuildings is also in the top three most common home insurance claims for seven out of twelve UK regions including London, the South West and Yorkshire⁴. According to police crime data, there were 250,690 reported home burglaries across the UK in 2022⁵ and the average cost to the homeowner of a residential burglary was £2,856⁶.

Making sure your windows and doors are locked even when you are in the garden or out of the house for a short time, can help prevent opportunist burglars. Installing CCTV and alarms can act as a preventative measure and an alert, should a burglar try to break into your home.

Bearing these statistics in mind, it could ‘pay’ to have a robust home insurance policy in place as it should compensate you for all, or part of your stolen belongings if your property is burgled.

Flood-related claims

Flood-related claims are also on the rise and are related to water issues outside of your home that affect your property. Extreme weather brought about by climate change means the number of claims made for storm damage have increased, with storms and heavy rain resulting in 170,000 claims made in 2022 for damage to home and contents⁷. This cost insurers around £1.5 billion last year⁸.

If this leaves you with a sinking feeling that your home could be damaged because of extreme weather, there is some hope on the horizon.

Flood Re scheme

Launched in 2016, the Flood Re scheme enables homeowners to apply for affordable cover for flooding if they live in a high-risk flood area. Many insurers pay into the scheme, and the cover is designed to be part of your buildings and contents policy. The Flood Re scheme will be in place until 2039 after which insurers may offer cover based on your property’s risk from flooding⁹.

To find out whether you qualify from this type of insurance visit: www.floodre.co.uk/find-an-insurer/

Alternatively, email us at:

info@lloydwhyte.com

What matters to you, matters to us

1. https://www.confused.com/home-insurance/home-insurance-statistics
2. https://propertyclaimassist.co.uk/5-home-insurance-statistics-you-need-to-know/
3. https://www.morganclark.co.uk/about-us/blog/uk-home-insurance-claim-statistics/
4. https://www.confused.com/home-insurance/home-insurance-statistics
5. https://www.keytek.co.uk/advice/burglary-crime-statistics/
6. https://www.adt.co.uk/blog/the-2022-adt-burglary-report#:~:text=On%20average%2C%20a%20burglary%20in,1%2C000%20in%2044%25%20of%20incidents.
7. https://www.confused.com/home-insurance/home-insurance-statistics
8. https://www.confused.com/home-insurance/home-insurance-statistics
9. https://www.floodre.co.uk/our-future/#:~:text=In%202039%20the%20Flood%20Re,be%20made%20to%20the%20Scheme

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