Biggest Christmas calamities – and how to insure against them!

Ask any of us who work in the insurance field if you really can insure Christmas and the answer may surprise you! Ever since the earliest recorded forms of insurance by Babylonian and Chinese traders, the scope of what we will insure is creative and vast. So naturally insurance professionals will find ways to help protect one of our favourite festive seasons!

There’s not much to be done once Great Auntie Beryl has had one sherry too many and there’s no way to avoid the kitschy Christmas jumper. But serious things can go wrong over Christmas and sometimes there are unpleasant surprises. Read on for our team’s top tips to ensuring you are properly insured and make your Christmas 2020 a brilliant success!

House fires

From fairy lights and candles, to paper hats and decorations, Christmas is riddled with potential fire hazards – which is why there is always a spike in household fires. Make sure your building and contents insurance includes cover for fire claims. And be careful with those candles!

Burglary

With richer pickings and more obvious signs when you are out of the house, burglaries are usually on the increase in December or January.

There are some simple steps you can take to try and avoid attracting attention: managing consultant Marion Errington advises against pictures of shopping or your presents under the tree on social media.

“Check your policy” recommends Miles Anderson-Smith, our Midlands managing consultant, as many insurance companies automatically enhance your contents cover around the Christmas period to take into consideration Christmas present theft. For example, one company automatically increases the insured value of your contents by 20% for 30 days either side of the big day to account for the extra valuables in your home. This extra cover will vary from one insurer to the next – and may come with strings attached, so it’s important to read your policy documents carefully. If in doubt, call your insurer and ask how Christmas affects your cover.

Confirm that your new presents will be covered by your insurance policy. The limit for single items typically ranges from £1,500 to £2,500, so be sure to double check with your insurer if you’ve bought anything above this. Make sure your insurance policy covers accidental damage for any breakages to new items or any mulled wine spillages during the festive season.

Often buying new purchases is best done with a credit card as this might include additional insurance cover.

Holidays

If you are one of the lucky few who are able to travel abroad this Christmas, make sure you have adequate travel insurance. Some policies won’t cover winter sports or acts of terrorism. The Foreign Office warned travelling revellers that if you aren’t adequately prepared for your holiday, this could end up being a costly Christmas for you. Here are some regular examples:

Mediterranean: 2 days in a general ward – £600; Food poisoning – £400-600

USA: Broken leg – £10k; Bronchitis (requiring inpatient treatment) – £20k

Far East: Bronchitis (requiring inpatient treatment) – £15k

And the cost of getting home is even steeper. Even the cheapest repatriation flight home unaccompanied from Northern France will set you back £1.2k. Longer haul flights with escort can cost up to £35k.

Why risk such massive charges and a financially-crippling end to your holiday when a competitively-priced travel policy will have it all covered?

Talking of Santa…

Ever wondered how much Santa would need to pay to be fully insured on his epic Christmas Eve trip? Staysure did – and they gave it a shot! Taking into account his health factors (before and after all that brandy and mince pies), the contents of a present-laden sleigh and journey fraught with risks from extreme weather to lyme-disease-riddled ticks from the reindeer, their quote came in at a festive £804,000!

So that’s a fully insured Christmas all wrapped up! If only there was a way to insure against a younger sister playing Mariah Carey playing “All I want for Christmas” for the 26^th time in a row…

Look out for next week’s blog in which we reveal some of the stranger strangest Christmassy insurance claims…

Until then, enjoy making your Christmas preparations and whatever festive merry-making your tier allows you to do, have fun and stay safe and healthy!

Francesca, Andrea, Marion, Miles, Sarah and Bailey