Most wanted Christmas gift can seriously damage your telly!

Halifax Home Insurance warns that this season's must-have Christmas gift – the Nintendo Wii – can cause serious damage to television sets, as over-excited players accidentally throw handsets, causing hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of pounds worth of damage to TV screens.

According to research commissioned by Halifax, the Nintendo Wii is the number one most wanted Christmas present for 2007

One-in-five people surveyed said they planned to purchase a Nintendo Wii this year

Shops fear supply shortages as demand for Wii increases in the run up to Christmas

Notify your insurer of any high value items, such as plasma TVs, advises Halifax.

According to specialist website 'Gaming Today', retailers are struggling to keep up with demand for the Nintendo Wii, but Halifax is warning parents trying to get hold of one to make sure their home insurance covers them for damage to TV screens.

With research showing that almost one-in-ten people are planning to buy new televisions this Christmas, they are advised to ensure they have adequate home insurance cover in place. Halifax Home Insurance offers unlimited cover for home contents, however, high value items worth over £1,500 need to be itemised on the policy.

Senior Claims Manager for Halifax Home Insurance, Martyn Foulds said: "We have noticed several home insurance claims for television screen damage coming through recently from people who have accidentally let go of the Wii handset, and with sales set to soar this Christmas, we anticipate lots more of these in the New Year. With some plasma screen TVs retailing at over £2,000, householders would be well advised to make sure they are properly covered and tell their insurer if they have a television of high value."

Halifax covers accidental damage to TV, video and audio equipment as standard under its Home Contents policy. Anyone purchasing Halifax Home Insurance cover online will also benefit from up to 35% discount. For more details visit Halifax.co.uk/insurance.

This year's top five must-have gifts include:

Rank - Christmas gift - % of people buying
1 Nintendo Wii 20%
2 iPod or MP3 player 13%
3 Designer jewellery/watch 10%
4 Flat screen/HD television 8%
5 DVD player/recorder 7%