More than 1 in 4 risk Invalidating their Home Insurance Due to Simple Mistakes

A home is one of, if not the most valuable asset most people will own, and as such, it needs to be protected. Incredibly, new research shows that more than one in four Brits admit to guessing some of the answers on their home insurance applications, which could cause significant headaches should a claim be made.

Insurance is one of those things that most begrudgingly take out as there is a good probability you will never need to use it, making many feel like they are paying something for nothing. However, when something does go wrong, you’ll be pleased you have it.

Filling in the details on an application form is hardly one of the first things people will put down on their list of enjoyable things to do, but when it comes to insurance, it is vital you do what you can to ensure the information is correct to avoid problems and unnecessary stress.

According to new research from Go Compare, many are making simple mistakes when applying for home insurance, such as guessing a home’s distance from water, which could risk invalidating nearly a quarter of home insurance policies.

The comparison site has revealed that more than one in four (28%) of us guess answers when filling out home insurance questions. Contents cover was the biggest culprit, with 34% of people foregoing a proper valuation assessment of their belongings.

A third (33%) of UK residents also admit to guessing the amount of money required to reconstruct our properties. Inaccurate answers when identifying lock types, valuing contents or calculating rebuild costs could mean your insurer won’t pay out if you need to make a claim.

Likewise, 32% of Brits say they don’t know the age of their house, while a further 28% reported guessing the types of door and window locks fitted. Yet, this common mistake could mean your insurance policy is not valid in the event of a burglary.

Go. Compare’s home insurance expert, Ceri McMillan, warns, “You’ll usually be given a bit of leeway if you’re slightly off when answering how far you are from water or the value of your contents. However, if you’ve totally missed the mark, you risk invalidating your policy, so it’s always best to be as accurate as possible.”

Other commonly guessed questions that may invalidate your policy include:

• Estimating your home’s distance from water – 26% guess the answer to this question, which is important in evaluating flood risk.
• Guessing your property’s current market value.
• Not knowing the materials on your roof or external walls – 20% of us guess the building materials of our home, which, if inaccurate, may not be repaired or replaced by your insurer.

However, there are ways to give a more accurate answer to avoid any issues. For further advice on tough home insurance questions, visit the Go Compare website.

To collect the data, Go Compare surveyed 2,000 UK residents via YouGov. The survey ran on 21 October 2022, and all respondents were selected at random. All statistics featured on this page are sourced via this survey unless otherwise stated.

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