Two in Five Homeowners Unaware of Need for Buildings Insurance at Exchange

BOURNEMOUTH, England, May 9 -- Liverpool Victoria, a provider of financial services issued the following news release:

Thousands (2) of British home buyers could be putting their dream home at risk during the crucial final stage of home buying, according to new research from LV=, one of the largest UK home insurers(1). The insurer found more than two in five (42%) (1) of homeowners were unaware they must have buildings insurance in place from exchange, not completion, before purchasing their home. What's more, an alarming one in 10 (10%) first time buyers admit to not even knowing what buildings insurance is.

Even those who are more clued up on the process let researching their home insurance options fall to the bottom of the list. More than a quarter (27%) of homeowners didn't spend any time researching which buildings insurance would be best for them, meaning they might not have had the right cover in place.

Building insurance covers the cost of rebuilding your home if it's damaged or destroyed and it must be in place from point of exchange to ensure the buyer is covered should something happen to the home (3).

Heather Smith, Chief Customer Officer at LV= said; "It's quite scary to think that such a large number of people don't know they need buildings insurance at the point of exchange. Insurance is there to protect the things that matter the most to people and a dream home is definitely something that needs the right cover in place.We understand that people's houses aren't just bricks and mortar - they are their homes - which is why we want to raise awareness of the need for having the right insurance in place to ensure that, should the worse happen, your home is protected."

Regionally, Sheffield appears to be the city where residents are most confused by buildings insurance with three in five (59%) people unaware they needed the insurance for exchange rather than completion and two in five (38%) saying they did no research when it came to putting it in place. Meanwhile, people living in Bristol and Edinburgh are most likely to understand the rules with more than two thirds (70%) knowing when to have buildings insurance in place.

For the period between exchange and completion, LV='s Home Buildings insurance covers both the customer's home which is being sold as well as the new home being purchased by the customer; therefore ensuring there is no gap in cover for either property. LV= is offering customers 25% off when they apply online for home insurance. For more information visit https://www.lv.com/home-insurance.