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If parents and grandparents’ cars are stolen or damaged, they may be left with a significant hit, as car seats, prams and other baby items may not be fully covered by standard insurance policies.
an analysis of UK car insurance Products, Financial Information by Business defacto, found that while most policies include cover for personal belongings as a standard benefit, 11 per cent do not offer any protection at all.
Defecto Be warned that even when cover is provided, limits are often reduced by replacement costs, pram travel systems often cost hundreds of pounds, and large families require multiple car seats.
It found that one in six (16 per cent) products offer cover for less than £200, and the majority offer cover between £200 and £499.
Less than 10 per cent of products offer cover between £500 and £999.
Mike Powell, Car Insurance Expert DefectoSaid: “Many parents live out of their cars, with compartments permanently stocked with prams, car seats, scooters and the like.
“If you have no personal items cover, or if your cover limit is low, you may have to pay to replace these items yourself if your car is stolen or damaged.”
The research looked at standard car and content products across the entire market, including 323 standard car products and 252 standard content products. Defaqto’s database was analyzed on 12 September.
DeFacto said there could also be complications when filing a claim.
It says people may be able to make a claim under their home contents insurance if they have personal property cover.
Only 11 per cent of home insurance policies analyzed by Defacto include it as standard, with the majority including the cover as a chargeable extra. Still, families should be aware of the disadvantages of using two different insurance products.
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Mr Powell said: “If ‘double cover’ is in place under both your car and home contents insurance, the policyholder may need to make a claim under both products to pay the cost of replacing the pram and car seats.
“In this example, the insurance provider will usually only pay their share of the claim, and this could also mean that the policyholder could be subject to two separate excesses as well as potentially losing any ‘no claims discount’ under both their car and home insurance.
Defacto also found that 87 percent of car insurance products analyzed included cover for car seats if they are damaged in a car accident.
It says that despite safety experts recommending replacement of a car seat after any accident – even if there is no damage – less than half (43 per cent) of the car insurance products analyzed will pay the full replacement cost where there is no visible damage to the car seat.
Here are some tips from Defacto for families to help protect car items belonging to children:
- Check if your car Insurance Is personal belongings cover included and what is the limit?
- check your home Insurance Cover for personal property and its limits for items kept in the car.
- Consider taking adequate cover from at least one policy.
- Always keep your car locked and secure, otherwise you may not be covered.
- Pay attention to the different provisions on car seats after accidents.
- Sift through the small print, as the details can make the difference between being covered and having to replace essential items worth hundreds of pounds.