Do I Really Need Home Insurance? Three Reasons Why the Answer is Yes.
Our homes, it’s often said, are our castles. They’re where we house everything that matters to us; not just our possessions, but our families and, more often than not, our most precious memories. However, with burglary rates in the UK continuing to fall year on year, we’re often asked whether home insurance is still the necessity it once was.
The answer is, of course, yes, and in this guide we’re going to share with you 3 reasons exactly why that’s the case.
- Burglary rates are falling, but they’re still a reality.
Better security and a more mindful population have helped drive reported instances of burglary in a dwelling down from 434,098 in 2003 to 157,305 in 2015. Naturally, that’s a cause for celebration, but it’s not a reason to rest on your laurels.157,305 is less than half as many reported burglaries than in 2003, but it remains over one hundred and fifty seven thousand homes forever tainted, millions of lives potentially damaged and tens of millions of pounds worth of belongings stolen. Quite simply, dispensing with home insurance isn’t worth the risk. - It is about more than just theft
There’s a tendency to think of home insurance as merely protection from nefarious individuals, but that’s just one aspect of the comprehensive cover many home insurance policies provide. Typically, home insurance also covers burst pipes, fire, flooding, riots, falling trees, storms and subsidence.Put simply, there’s no shortage of ways in which your home can sneak up on you with a surprise and nasty bill, making home insurance all the more necessary. - It could be a legal requirement
If you co-own your home in partnership with a mortgage lender, it could be that you have a legal requirement to ensure your home is adequately insured. The terms and conditions of your mortgage will contain this requirement if it’s in place.Though governmental law doesn’t require any home owner to hold a home insurance policy, your mortgage provider is well within their rights to require you to take one out. If you cancel your home insurance policy, your mortgage company will have the right to take one out on your behalf and charge you for it.
With so many arguments in favour of having home insurance perhaps one more factor to consider is the potential impact of not having it. Aside from already mentioned legal implications, it provides you with a safety net should the worst happen. Having the security that your material surroundings are covered in almost any event provides invaluable peace of mind instead of infinite ‘what ifs?’. What if you don’t have it? What if you have to unexpectedly cover the expense of a surprise repair? What if you can’t afford to? Save yourself the worry, insure your home.