How safe is your Christmas present hiding place?

Hiding Christmas presents is a tradition as old as Santa himself, but some hiding places are not as safe as others - and we’re not talking about the kids finding them. Research by Abbey Insurance shows that a number of people may be storing presents this Christmas in places where they are not covered by their insurance.

The most common hiding place by far is the old trusty wardrobe with over 60 per cent of people storing at least some of their gifts inside. However 13.7 million people (30 per cent) will be hiding Christmas presents in someone else’s home. 13.1 million (29 per cent) of people are keeping theirs in their shed or garage and a massive 8.3 million people (18 per cent) will keep some of their gifts in the car.

£946 million worth

We’re not talking small figures. People tend to store £98 worth of presents each in secret hiding places and with £69 worth stored in other people’s houses, across the UK that’s £946 million worth of presents not kept under your own roof. Some people are hiding even more than this. 1.1 million people (9 per cent) have trusted their friends and family with presents in excess of £100 to store, and 71,000 hiding in excess of £500 worth of gifts in another person’s home.

However, according to Abbey Home Insurance, despite the value of these gifts, many people have not checked whether there is any insurance in place should a burglar give them a nasty Christmas surprise.

Of the people that have stored presents in someone else’s home, 60 per cent didn’t consider insurance of their goods as an issue, while 22 per cent assumed they would be covered, but didn’t check. Worse still 147,000 people did check, found out their neighbours were not insured, but still stored the gifts in their house anyway.

It is not just presents in other people’s houses that could be at risk. Sheds and outbuildings also may not be covered.

Prasad Shastri, Head of Insurance Marketing at Abbey, said: "Part of the fun of Christmas is keeping present hidden until Christmas morning. However, with 2.9 million people starting their Christmas shopping as early as January, some hiding places can amass a small fortune before they are finally given out as presents.

“Friends houses and sheds may seem like good hiding places for presents, but people should be aware that these places may not be covered by your insurance. You may want to check with the person storing your gift that they are appropriately covered so that you don’t end up losing out this Christmas”.

Peace of mind

For people looking for unlimited sum insurance, Abbey's Peace of Mind home insurance policy provides this for properties with less than six bedrooms. This is the third year running that Abbey has been awarded a five star rating by Defaqto, making it one of only five providers to have ever achieved this honour.

Free advice on how to ensure that you have adequate cover for your house and possessions is available at any branch of Abbey, or for more information about Abbey’s home insurance visit abbey.com/insurance.