The jaw-dropping value of possessions owned by the UK’s 27 million households, and the amount that is uninsured was laid bare earlier this year by the Association of British Insurers (ABI). The value of the UK’s household contents is now nudging towards £1 trillion (one million million: £1,000,000,000,000), with the value of possessions owned by all UK households now worth £950 billion – that is, they say more than central government’s entire spending last year (£675 billion).

This means that on average, we own around £35,000 worth of stuff – which is worth more than the average annual UK salary of £27,000. However, the ABI also report that over a quarter (28%) of households are without home contents insurance. That’s 7.5 million homes, with possessions worth over £266 billion, uninsured, unprotected and at risk from theft, fire, flooding and accidental damage.

It seems many of us Brits are choosing to go without despite the fact that the ABI say average cost of home contents insurance, at £141 a year, works out at less than £3 a week, with the weekly cost of a combined buildings and contents policy less than £6 a week.

The good news for Essential Insurance customers is that you could buy your home insurance for a better than average cost. Through Essential Insurance 1 in 4 new customers paid less than £4 a week¹ for their buildings and contents policy!

Mark Shepherd, Head of Property at the ABI, said: “With a wide variety of policies available, including no-frills policies tailored to people on limited budgets, insuring your possessions can mean that if the worst happens you are not left counting the cost for years to come.”

What are the chances of the worst happening to you?

According to the Office of National Statistics latest release relating to burglary and household theft around 2 in 100 households find themselves a victim of domestic burglary each year. That’s 650,000 incidents a year, as reported by the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW). On top of this, the estimated numbers of CSEW “other household theft” incidents (typically thefts from gardens), whilst down from previous years, still amounted to 587,000 incidents in the latest survey.

Police force area recorded crime data reveal that a large proportion of burglary offences are concentrated in predominantly urban areas. The Metropolitan Police along with Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and West Midlands police forces consistently account for over 40% of domestic burglaries.

The CSEW provide further information about the circumstances surrounding incidents of domestic burglary over the last decade, including:

• offenders gained entry through a door around 70% of the time and through a window around 30% of the time
• around 70% of domestic burglaries take place during the week
• approximately three-fifths of domestic burglaries take place during the evening or night (6pm to 6am)
• in over half of incidents of domestic burglary where an offender gained entry into the house, someone was at home at the time

Home insurance can’t turn back time or heal the emotional scars if you’re a victim of domestic burglary, but it can help protect your property and belongings in case of such an emergency. So, if you’re one of the millions who don’t have home insurance, the question is can you afford to be without it?

To get your quote, our home insurance team can be contacted on 0808 169 2898.

1. 25% of new customers buying home buildings and contents insurance and paying an annual premium through Essential Insurance (to date 14/09/18) paid a price that was equivalent to less than £4 per week. The price you pay will depend on your individual circumstances, cover and payment method selected.