UK download spend hits £700 million in 2010

Despite Brits spending an average of £453 each on gadgets and downloads such as music and videos per year, more than £300 million worth isn't fully insured, according to home insurer swiftcover.com.

The huge amount of content available for download alone has grown exponentially during the past few years, resulting in a total UK spend of £700 million, equal to £19 for every UK adult. Moreover, almost two million UK adults admitted to spending at least £100 per year on downloads.

There has been an overwhelming acceptance of online content across the UK, but swiftcover.com's research demonstrates a startling lack of understanding when considering the value of downloads. Worryingly, a quarter (23 per cent) admitted to having "no idea" how much their gadgets and downloads are worth.

Despite spending more than £700 million on downloads including music, film, e-books and video games, a third (35 per cent) of adults haven't backed up their digital hauls. Furthermore, 43 per cent of those polled had taken no security measures whatsoever to guard their expensive electronics from attack even though digital content is now a fundamental part of a traditional British home.

James Barclay, home underwriting manager at swiftcover.com, said: "It's staggering that we take downloading content for granted these days without a second thought for its monetary worth. Clearly it's important to recognise how much gadgets such as PCs, laptops and MP3s are worth however people should not ignore digital assets such as music, videos or even e-books, as they often  have a substantial  value."

With more content now being downloaded than ever before, it would be beneficial for anybody spending a lot of time and money on downloads to think about what would happen if their collection were to get lost, damaged or stolen. Even though some download sites may let you re-download a certain amount of content, the cost of replacing your entire collection could prove to be an unnecessary expense.

The research was commissioned for swiftcover.com's new home insurance product, which includes £500 cover for digital assets such as MP3s or films stored on a computer or digital media player, alongside competitive cover for gadgets and home entertainment systems.

For more information on swiftcover.com home insurance visit swiftcover.com/homeinsurance.