Thousands fail to pay home insurance premiums

2nd July, 2009

The number of people in the capital cancelling their home insurance policies has increased dramatically since the credit crunch put further strains on people’s expenditure.

Around 22 per cent of people have said they are saving money and cancelling their premiums has helped them to balance their incomes. The Association of British Insurers has decided to target the 750,000 people living in the capital in local authority or social housing.

The director of the ABI, Nick Starling, said “Many low-income Londoners struggle to access basic financial products, such as contents insurance”. He went on to say “This makes it very difficult for them to plan for the future and leaves them at the mercy of unwelcome events, such as burglary”.

Most of the people in these areas are more vulnerable to crime such as burglary where they are more than twice as likely to be a victim and three times more likely to be a victim of arsonists.

The ABI recently held a meeting with insurers Aviva and Aon and London local authorities and housing associations to help promote more tenant friendly insurance schemes. The scheme would be designed to be sold by social landlords and at a lower cost than those available on the high street. The premiums could be paid within the rent and payouts could be granted in cash in some cases.

 

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