"General insurance is a really important product as it ultimately helps protect the things you love – your home and possessions."
- Sarah Watts, at LV= General Insurance head of intermediary
Insurance firm, LV= claims that due to the significant rise in costs for home repairs and rebuilds, as well as household furniture, there is growing concern that some homeowners could be underinsured if they haven’t recently checked and updated their home insurance policies.
This concern has also been triggered by a drastic increase (£1.2m) in summer-related claims this year. These claims were primarily caused by extreme heat and fire-related incidents during July.
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With the winter months now fast approaching, claims are set to spike again for perils such as burglary, storms, and floods - all of which could see claim costs reaching as high as £30k.
‘Bring it Home’ has been launched by LV= to help bring general insurance back into the conversation between advisers and their clients during mortgage and re-mortgage consultations on a more regular basis, in hopes of reducing the number of claims this winter.
To help advisers prioritise home insurance conversations, ‘Bring it Home’ membership offers access to sales aids, tools, and webinars run by LV=’s dedicated learning and development team, to ensure clients are adequately covered for their home insurance needs.
Furthermore, supporting the firm's commitment to raising awareness for Family Action's free and confidential service, LV= has pledged to donate £5* to Family Action - the company’s charity partner - for every home insurance policy sold.
Commenting on the launch, Sarah Watts, at LV= General Insurance head of intermediary, has said:
“We know our partners and advisers have a vast amount of expertise which can make a real difference to help ensure clients have the level of cover they need come the unexpected.
“It’s about making sure clients have the right cover in place now, to help protect them from high unexpected costs in the future. Inflation and other factors mean it’s now far more expensive to replace items and repair properties, so checking that home contents or buildings insurance is correct is so crucial.”
Martin Reynolds, SimplyBiz chief executive officer, commented:
“This is a fantastic initiative and it’s great to see LV= supporting advisers and the intermediary market with home insurance resources and tools. Home insurance is an important product and talking to clients about their needs provides a great opportunity.
“Not only can advisers continue to build those all-important relationships and become a trusted expert on the mortgage front, but can check a client’s home insurance is up to date and ensure there is adequate cover in place.”
Jo Carrasco, Stonebridge business partnerships director, added:
“It’s great to see LV= launching a superb initiative, especially in this current environment. We need to support our advisers and help them build their confidence when they’re discussing general insurance. This will enable our advisers to continue building great relationships with their clients and give back to the community too."
