Home Insurance: Make sure you check those bathroom windows

Home Insurance: Make sure you check those bathroom windows.

By consequence of recession-related problems, there has been a dramatic increase in the rate of burglary and concomitant vandalism throughout the UK. Official quarterly crime figures published by the London police in April of this year revealed an unexpected 25% increase in personal theft and a 4% rise in home burglaries.

Coincident with these figures, there are an increasing number of insurance companies who are refusing to pay up when clients complain that a burglar has broken in through, say, a bathroom window whose locks do not conform to British safety standards. Most insurance companies state that clients must have what’s called a “five-lever mortice lock” conforming to BS3621 on all exit doors and accessible windows. If after a home burglary it is discovered that the locks do not meet such standards, insurance companies have the right to deem one’s insurance claims invalid.

The same goes for bathroom and other accessible windows that have been left ajar. Insurers pay no heed to clients’ complaints when they see the cause of theft and damage to be carelessness. This could have potentially disastrous results. You might have trawled through dozens of price comparison websites for days, desperately trying to cut down the pounds from your home insurance policy. Having forgotten to do something as simple as shut the window, you might find yourself having lost hundreds, even thousands, and without any insurance compensation to cover it. Just imagine the expense of damaged or stolen valuables like your bathroom mirrors and cabinets, handles and taps made of precious metal or expensive bathroom lights.

It’s not just that careless mistakes like the wrong locks and open windows will cause clients to miss out on financial support. More specifically, they’ll miss out on the deals many insurance companies offer. Included in Kwik Fit Insurance’s contents insurance, for example, is £500 on the contents of your freezer – a valuable you may not have even thought about!  It’s vital you don’t forget about the far corners of your home – Visit the Kwik Fit Insurance website for more on their home insurance policies which should open up to umbrella the bits and bobs of your home.

Worryingly, many homeowners blithely believe their locks would meet safety standards, and yet have no idea of the kind of locks they own. These are probably the same homeowners who don’t think twice before leaving the window ajar. Just for being careless, these people could find themselves thousands of pounds out of pocket.