Tis the Season to be Chilly

Boiler breakdown is top home worry for quarter of Brits - but just 23% of building insurance products cover this as standard. 16% of consumers rate theft of Christmas presents as their key concern over the festive period. However more than one in 10 have failed to take out any form of home or contents insurance.

Spending the festive season in a freezing cold home is the top concern for Brits, ranking above theft, power failure and a disastrous Christmas dinner, according to research from Greenbee, the financial and leisure services arm of the John Lewis Partnership.

Research shows that more than a quarter (26%) of Brits lists a boiler or heating breakdown as their key worry during the Christmas period.

Yet Defaqto analysis by Greenbee has found that just 23% of building insurance products and 20% of contents insurance products offer home emergency cover as standard, leaving many people potentially out in the cold - in more ways than one - and nursing a New Year financial hangover in the event of a central heating catastrophe.

Only 58 out of 257 building insurance products (23%) currently on the market offer home emergency cover (including central heating and boiler breakdown) as standard (September - February only).

Only 53 out of 268 contents insurance products (20%) currently on the market offer home emergency cover (including central heating and boiler breakdown) as standard.

Fears over festive theft:

The survey of just over 1,000 UK adults also identified that 16% of consumers rated theft of Christmas presents as their main home worry during the festive season, just ahead of a power failure (13%).

Worryingly however, the research also revealed that more than one in ten Brits (12%) have no home or contents cover. Almost a fifth (19%) of 25-34-year-olds are completely unprotected, despite being the age group most worried about Christmas presents being stolen (28%).

Key regional findings:

> Those in the South East are the most concerned about a boiler / heating breakdown, with 30% saying this was their top festive worry for the home.

> Scots are three times more likely than Midlanders to be worried about a fire (due to dodgy fairy lights or unattended candles) - 21% compared to 6%.

> Londoners, as well as the Welsh, are most worried about their Christmas dinner being ruined, with 15% naming this their top concern - more than double that of Scots (6%).

The research into the home insurance market has demonstrated that while the nation has real concerns about a boiler breakdown, the simple fact is that most home insurance providers will not provide cover. This could potentially leave many people facing not only a cold Christmas, but at worst, seriously out of pocket, at a time when everyone is feeling the pinch.

It’s vital that people really look carefully at the level of home insurance cover they actually have, to ensure they’re not left under-insured, or indeed, without protection at all.