Third of all private renters do not have home insurance

A new report by the AA has highlighted some rather startling statistics in the difference in insurance usage between housing association and private renters.

Specifically, the former are reportedly far more likely to have home insurance than the latter, with a third of all private renters noted not to have a home insurance policy in place.

The data digs deeper still to highlight that private renters are more likely to not have contents insurance on their properties; 54% are said to have it in place, as opposed to 64% of housing association tenants.

The explanation behind this is that private renters are less likely to get recommendations for some sort of cover from their landlords.

Nationally, 9% of homes across the country are said to not have any sort of home insurance policy in place. That figure increases to 29% when low income households are brought into the equation.

“It is worrying that 2.4 million households risk losing it all as they have no home insurance,” noted the AA’s Insurance services managing director, Janet Connor.

“The widely reported high cost of private rent may be a reason why renters are not buying any form of cover. With three in 10 low income households saying they do not have insurance, it is possible they see insurance as a ‘nice to have but cannot afford’ purchase.

“For less than £1 a week, renters can give themselves and their possessions protection and peace of mind regardless of how they got damaged, lost or stolen.

“Rather than have nowhere to turn, we want every household to have some form of insurance cover, as anything can happen.”