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Britain’s wealthy uninsured by millions

21/06/06

Millions of affluent Britons do not have adequate home insurance or home contents insurance, which means they are ill protected from the financial consequences if something should go wrong, according to a new report.
 
Norwich Union conducted a study which discovered that UK residents in the high earner bracket are on average underinsured by £85,000.
 
Nigel Wembridge of Norwich Union said: "The average affluent client is underinsuring their possessions by nearly 70 per cent."
 
And it doesn't help that the possessions these well-off Britons own are more expensive than those of the average Brit.
 
After carrying out wealth checks on a hundred of its wealthiest clients, the home insurance provider discovered that, by not insuring their possessions, they stood to lose £1.4 million each.
 
The most under-insured valuables are clothing and personal objects, whether that's the Gucci sunglasses or the professional golf clubs.
 
Antiques are also most likely to not be insured, while Brits often do not get cover for their soft furnishings, glassware and light fittings.
 
Chartered arts and antiques surveyor at Quastel Associates, John Weallans, said: "When we walk into a client's house to undertake an insurance wealth check it can sometimes end up like a scene from the Antiques Roadshow.
 
"People get quite excited when we reveal the value of some of the finer things they own.
 
"We look at everything from books to garden furniture. Often they have no idea how much that simple oak table they've had for decades has increased in value or how much all those shoes in the wardrobe are really worth." 
 
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