1-in-10 Could be Over-Insuring Their Homes, says Confused.com

Cardiff, (PRWEB) July 23, 2008 -- Around 10 percent of UK homeowners could be paying too much for their home insurance, according to a recent study by leading insurance comparison site Confused.com.

Research carried out by the home insurance (http://www.confused.com/home-insurance) aggregator found that nearly 10 percent* of customers searching for both buildings insurance and combined buildings and contents insurance via its website mistakenly entered the market value of their property when asked for the rebuild cost of the property.

However, when assessing how much building insurance is required, homeowners only need to insure for the rebuild cost of their home - usually significantly less than the market value. This means that, potentially, tens of thousands of UK homeowners could be wasting money by forking out on a level of buildings insurance that they simply don't need.

In order to curb any buildings insurance premiums overspend, homeowners will first need to find out just how much the rebuild value of their property is.

How to Find the Rebuild Cost of Your Home

The rebuild cost of your property can be found on your mortgage agreement or an estimate can be worked out using the house insurance rebuilding calculator on the Association of British Insurers' website.

However, Confused.com recommends that homeowners watch out for following when determining an accurate rebuild value:

?    If you live in an unusual property or period house, you will need to ensure that your cover is high enough to allow for a complete rebuild in the original style - more expensive than if your house is of standard build or relatively new.

?    It is extremely important not to undervalue your property's rebuild value. This could leave you severely out of pocket should the worst happen, so be very careful when assessing this figure and seek professional advice if you're not sure.

?    If you've extended your property, don't forget to factor this in when calculating the rebuild value. (Note: your home insurance (http://www.confused.com/home-insurance) provider should be informed whenever you extend the property. This is important because the insurance company will only pay out on the part of the property that is actually covered.)

So if you think you are among the 1-in-10 homeowners who may have over-insured their property, check and see what the difference is between rebuild value and purchase price - you could end up significantly reducing your buildings insurance premiums.

Actual figure 9.997%. Confused.com looked at all buildings insurance searches carried out via its online service for the six-month period running from the beginning of January 2008 to the end of June 2008.

For further information please contact:

Caroline Spindlove

Confused.com

07970 136 737

Gug Kyriacou/ Joanna Harte

Polhill Communications

020 7655 0550

About Confused.com:

Confused.com is one of the UK's biggest and most popular price comparison services. Launched in 2002, it dominates the car insurance aggregator market with a massive 70% market share and generates over one million quotes per month. It has expanded its range of comparison products over the last couple of years to include home insurance (http://www.confused.com/home-insurance), travel insurance, pet insurance, van insurance, motorbike insurance, breakdown cover and energy, as well as financial services products including credit cards, loans, mortgages and life insurance.

Confused.com has 62 motor insurance partners, and customers can save up to on average £208. It also has a panel of 43 for home insurance, and customers who use Confused.com for home insurance can expect to save up to £193.

Confused.com is not a supplier, insurance company or broker. It provides a free, objective and unbiased comparison service. By using cutting-edge technology, it has developed a series of intelligent web-based solutions that evaluate a number of risk factors to help customers with their decision-making, subsequently finding them great deals on a wide-range of insurance products, financial services, utilities and more. Confused.com's service is based on the most up-to-date information provided by UK suppliers and industry regulators.

Confused.com is owned by the Admiral Group plc. Admiral listed on the London Stock Exchange in September 2004. Confused.com is regulated by the FSA.

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