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Admiral Home insurance has revealed that bikes worth more than £1,500, on average, were the most popular items added to home insurance policies at the beginning of this year.
Comparing Admiral’s policy data from 2018 to 2020, bikes have grown in popularity, overtaking jewellery which used to be the most commonly added item. Data from January 2021 shows that bikes hold the top spot for items added to policies, accounting for 30% of items, while jewellery was the second most popular (29%), followed by watches (11%) and household tech like laptops and tablets (10%).
During the first national lockdown, many people bought bikes either for exercise or as an alternative way to travel and, in May last year, Admiral saw a 46% increase in the number of bicycle theft claims compared to the same period in 2019. The latest data shows an increase in owners actively adding their bikes to their policies in a bid to protect them.
“Although Christmas seems like a distant memory already, it’s important that homeowners don’t forget to update their home insurance policy if they received any special gifts worth over £1,000 or bikes worth more than £350 during the festive break, to make sure they are properly covered,” said Noel Summerfield, head of home at Admiral.
“At Admiral, we offer ‘Celebration cover’ which means cover for new items including technology and expensive jewellery like engagement rings will automatically be increased for 14 days either side of the date of the celebration, giving homeowners peace of mind that their new valuables are protected. However, if these items were given as presents at Christmas, that grace period is now over which means they may no longer be covered if the insurer hasn’t been notified.
“If you received a gift for Christmas and aren’t sure of the value, a good starting point if you don’t feel comfortable asking the person who gave you the gift is to research the item on the internet. This will help you work out how much each item is worth, so you can make sure you have the right insurance cover in place. Any high-value antiques or jewellery should be valued by a professional before being added to your policy to make sure they’re accurately protected and not undervalued.
“Taking photographs of the item and keeping original receipts, invoices or valuations dated before the item was insured is always worthwhile because keeping as much evidence of the item as possible will make things easier in case you ever need to make a claim.
“Even if homeowners don’t think they’ve spent that much on gifts, it is still worth taking the time to add other household items to your policy to make sure you have the right contents insurance in place, and to avoid being hit with any unexpected costs in the future.”
Read the February issue of BikeBiz below:
