With households spending an extra 6.5 hours more a day indoors, new research by MoneySuperMarket shows that Wales fork out £367.40 on average to repair or replace a damaged household item.
Looking at over 3 million home insurance enquiries, the price comparison site found that 39% of enquirers from Cardiff choose not to include accidental damage cover. This is despite research showing that 64% of people in Cardiff have needed to repair or replace an item damaged at home in the past 10 years.
Most commonly damaged household items in Cardiff:
1. Desktop/laptop – 34%
2. Mobile phone – 29%
3. Carpet/flooring – 26%
4. Outdoor furniture – 21%
5. Ipad/tablet – 18%
6. Wardrobe – 17%
= 7. Chest of drawers – 13%
= 7. Fridge/freezer – 13%
= 7. Washing machine – 13%
Kate Devine, Head of Home Insurance at MoneySuperMarket, commented: “With people spending more time at home due to social distancing measures, our research has shown there is concern about additional accidental damage occurring, particularly in those households with children at home.
“Ensuring you have a comprehensive home insurance policy in place which includes accidental damage cover will protect you from hefty prices for one-off repairs or replacements, and also give you some peace of mind. Just remember to check the single item limit on your policy and list any household items over that value. Typical items here could be jewelry, but also computers, antiques, musical instruments and designer goods.
“If you do need to make a claim, it is always worth comparing the cost to repair or replace the item against any excess you will need to pay and any loss to your no-claims discount. If you can pay for the repairs yourself your no-claims bonus won’t be affected which may result in lowering your home insurance premium.”
You can find out more about accidental damage and compare the most commonly damaged items on the MoneySuperMarket website.