Nearly half of UK renters don’t have contents insurance – Trōv

Nearly half of UK renters do not have contents insurance, according to the latest research by insurtech Trōv and rights and responsibilties community The Tenants’ Voice.

The pair partnered up to survey 4,500 UK renters about their attitudes towards contents insurance - this revealed that 24% of renters have never bought contents insurance, while 20% of respondents who do not currently have this cover have purchased it in the past.

Meanwhile, just over half (56%) of renters surveyed had bought contents insurance.

The research also found a renewed focus on the rights and responsibilities of property renters following the visibility around the risk of flammable cladding on high rise buildings, such as the Grenfell Tower.

Benjamin Hindson, director of global insurance solutions at Trōv, said: “It always seems a little defeatist to plan for a ‘worst case scenario’, but in reality, this is the pragmatic thing to do. It is reassuring for renters to know they are supported in any eventuality.”

Lack of specialist brokers used

When asked where respondents bought contents insurance, not a single renter surveyed cited using a specialist insurance broker.

Only 16% of UK renters said they purchased cover directly from an insurance company they were familiar with, 5% said they bought insurance through an itemised insurance provider for a specialist item and 2% admitted to using a company’s financial services offering, such as John Lewis Finance.

Regarding contents insurance purchasing habits, 37% of renters said they just hadn’t got around to it but intended to buy cover, 31% are hoping they will never need it, 20% think a flatmate or fellow tenant has it and 12% did not know anything about contents insurance.

Hindson added: “It is surprising for us to see that 12% of UK renters don’t know anything about contents insurance and this proves that we still have work to do.

“We hope to see more and more people take out contents insurance across the UK. This is a focus of Trōv’s as we continue to establish ourselves as a leader in embedded insurance.”

The most likely sources for buying insurance, according to respondents, were comparison websites (34%) and banks (25%). A further 18% stated that they bought insurance via their landlord or property management company.

In terms of why renters bought insurance, 38% said they always buy insurance, 36% have expensive things they want to insure and 15% were told by friends or family to purchase it.

Meanwhile, 11% said they had lost money by not insuring their contents in the past and they do not want a repeat episode.

On claims, 57% of renters had not submitted a claim versus 43% who had.