Following the catastrophic riots that engulfed several London Boroughs and UK cities in August, the quest for home insurance has spiked to all-time highs. Online searches have escalated by a significant 14 per cent over a seven-day period between 6 and 13 August 2011, outpacing the traditional home insurance industry highs recorded in the month of January by 7.5 per cent!
Looting, loss of earnings and physical damage to private and business properties have racked up a sizeable price tag, estimated to be well over £200 m. Factor in the incalculable cost to the uninsured, and the 2011 London Riots have the potential to derail an already jittery economy. Although business appears to have taken the biggest knock, with all-out looting of desirable branded goods prevalent across the city and stores closing for the duration of the violent unrest, private homes and vehicles were also randomly targeted and torched, leaving home owners counting the cost.
The good news is local insurance companies have largely confirmed they will honour claims made on motor and home insurance policies, notwithstanding exclusion clauses that make reference to ‘riot, civil commotion or any act of terrorism’, clauses that generally apply to riots and civil disobedience outside of the United Kingdom. In the week between 6 and 13 August, one out of every 500 UK online home insurance searches contained the word ‘riot’, a clear indication that London and UK residents are intent on shoring up their fiscal defences in case the unimaginable happens all over again.
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