Home wrecking neighbours

Around 543,000 households suffer damage at the hands of their neighbours every year, according to research by Abbey Home Insurance.

The research shows that accidents caused by neighbours collectively costs homeowners more than £93.4 million in damage each year, or an average £172 per household. Indeed, nearly one in twenty of these people have seen damage in excess of £1,000.

Regionally, people in London were most likely to encounter damage caused by their neighbours with one in ten homeowners suffering. This is compared to the Welsh who were least likely to be affected.

Prasad Shastri, Head of Insurance Marketing at Abbey, said: "Not all damage caused to people’s homes by their neighbours is malicious, in many cases this type of damage is accidental. However there are often misconceptions about whose insurance is to be used to claim for it.

“It is always the policy holder of the damaged home that will need to submit a claim. For example, if your neighbour was to cut down a tree that accidentally breaks a window, it is only you that can claim for damage to your property, not your neighbour, highlighting how important it is for you to make sure your insurance covers you against accidental damage caused to your property by other people”.

Abbey offers unlimited sum insured (Peace of Mind) and specified sum insured (Essentials) home insurance policies that cover you in the event of accidental damage caused at your home.

Abbey offers the following tips when looking for good home insurance:

Buying your home insurance based on the price alone may leave you underinsured. Make sure you check that as well as a competitive price, you are receiving the appropriate amount of cover for your home and its contents.

Be aware of policies that charge extra for paying by direct debit. Unlike Abbey, some insurers penalise you for paying your insurance premiums by direct debit, some charge as much as 34.9 per cent APR.

Look for policies that have been given a five star rating by Defaqto, a leading independent research company. This signifies that a policy has some of the best quality cover available in the market.

Abbey Peace of Mind insurance policy has been given a five star rating (for homes with 5 bedrooms or fewer) by Defaqto, for the second year running.