Home Insurance Need 'Highlighted By Earthquake'

Home Insurance is something that most of us take for granted but is everything we own really covered? It is worth checking your policy for unusual situations.

People in the UK have been reminded of the need to take out home insurance after earthquakes shook parts of Britain recently. According to a leading high street insurer, close to 1,100 claims were made in the hour after the tremors occurred. A director of the firm commented that homeowners can quickly get back on their feet should they pick the right policy.

He said: "These incidents can dramatically affect the structural safety of a home, but with a good insurance policy that offers comprehensive protection for your property, your ability to recover from the unexpected will be a lot easier."

Although many earthquakes do not gather such media attention, almost 200 take place each year in the UK, approximately 175 of which are small enough not to be noticed by humans. With one-in-four homes uninsured and some policies not covering earthquake damage, the potential cost of these ‘acts of God’ could be staggering.

It can be hard to prepare for an event as unpredictable as an earthquake or even a flood. However, it is vitally important to make sure your home insurance policy is up to date.

It was the biggest earthquake in the UK for nearly 25 years and according to the British Geological Survey, the event registered 5.3 on the Richter scale at its epicentre in the north of Lincoln. Homes were affected as far as Newcastle, Yorkshire, London, Cumbria, the Midlands, Norfolk and also parts of Wales.

Many people described the event as "like a big juggernaut coming down the road. It was very loud and the whole house shook."

It has been claimed that the event is to cost the UK tens of millions of pounds in damage. This will mainly be due to structural damage of homes and businesses near the epicentre of the earthquake.

If you would like to know more about home insurance why not ask AnswerBank Insurance.