This comes according to a new survey conducted on behalf of Money Expert, which looked at the things Brits wish they could get insurance for in addition to conventional policies like home and car insurance. The list also includes being a victim of online banking fraud (44%), noisy neighbours (16%), and being cheated on (15%). Other strange things people would like to see insurance policies for include trashy TV, bad weather, shoes that hurt, wigs, and happiness.
The top 10 things we’d like to insure against are:
- Online banking fraud (44%)
- Bad romances (22%)
- Incompetent politicians (19%)
- Noisy neighbours (16%)
- Cheating partner (15%)
- Misuse of social media (14%)
- Lack of common sense (14%)
- Career failure (12%)
- Trashy TV (8%)
- Bad weather (7%)
Few of us in the UK would ever need to work again if we were insured against weather like this!
When it comes to more serious issues, over a quarter (27%) of British adults believe there should be some form of Covid-19 insurance available. 26% believe there should be protection against disruption to travel and holidays caused by the pandemic, 23% think insurance should be able to cover Covid-related financial losses, while 19% said there should be some sort of medical insurance against the virus. However, 40% of people didn’t think there should be any Covid insurance.
The research also found that many Brits don’t actually like spending money on insurance. 38% said they don’t like buying insurance although they believe it’s necessary, compared to 31% who say they don’t mind the expenditure. Overall, 32% of people agreed that insurance, in general, is not worth it.
But the importance of cover shouldn’t be underestimated, as a fifth (20%) of Brits admitted to being caught out before with no insurance, and therefore had to pay a lot of money to resolve the problem.
Jason Smith, CEO of Money Expert, said: “There are some things in life you just can’t insure against unfortunately. But the more conventional policies are key to peace of mind, protecting us if we fall ill and covering some of the more expensive items in our lives.”
Despite the fact that the majority of Brits have some form of insurance, a significant number of people don’t read their policies (41%), and just 24% said they read their policies in full. This lack of thoroughness has come back to bite a lot of people, with 20% saying they have been refused a payout in the past due to a clause they weren’t aware of.
“It’s also vital that people research the types of policy available and then take time to read the fine print so there are no nasty surprises if they have to make a claim,” said Mr Smith.
However, even if more people read their policies in full, that doesn’t necessarily mean people will understand them. 14% of people said they had no idea what is meant by the term ‘excess’ – which is vital to understanding how your policy works. Meanwhile, just 19% of people knew what a ‘deferred premium’ is.
