Tenants ‘more likely to have Netflix than contents insurance’

A PropTech supplier to letting agents claims that tenants are more likely to have Netflix than contents insurance. 

A survey of 1,013 private tenants commissioned by Paymentshield reveals that 53 per cent of private tenants subscribe to a TV streaming service - and the figure hits 60 per cent for respondents aged between 25 to 54.

But although the proportion of tenants with contents insurance has grown in recent years, rising from just 33 per cent in 2020 and 46 per cent in 2022, it still lags behind the enthusiasm for TV streaming. 

London is a particular hotspot for low take-up, with 58 per cent in the capital not having tenants’ contents insurance. The survey also reveals that a greater proportion of renters in London had experienced a fire, flood or theft in their property in the last 12 months compared to other regions of the UK. 

Only one in five of all respondents who do have contents insurance said that their policy was specifically designed for tenants. 

Paymentshield claims that this means that, for the vast majority with insurance, it might not cover them for the range of scenarios that comes with living in rented accommodation, such as accidentally damaging the landlord’s property or belongings. 

Half of tenants in the survey said they’ve never heard of tenants’ liability insurance, even though, collectively, respondents reported being more worried about accidentally damaging the landlord’s property or belongings than their own. One in five tenants aged 18 to 34 admitted to having damaged the landlord’s property or belongings before. 

A perception that it costs too much was the single biggest reason cited by tenants for not having any form of contents insurance, with 42 per cent of respondents listing this as a blocker – despite average monthly prices for a policy sitting within the same range as a Netflix subscription. 

A monthly payment model is preferred by a significant proportion of tenants, with over two in five (42 per cent) of respondents saying they’d rather take out a tenants’ contents policy on a monthly rolling basis, as opposed to 35 per cent saying they’d rather pay annually. 

The survey also revealed the value of tenants’ personal belongings that are at risk from not having contents insurance. One third  stated that their belongings would add up to over £10,000, and of this group, almost one in five do not have insurance. 

Rana Ali, director of distribution for lettings at Paymentshield, says: “Our research shows that too many tenants would rather reactively spend than proactively protect, taking a huge financial risk, and this is largely down to a misconception that tenants’ contents insurance is too expensive. There’s still a lot to do to educate tenants, of all ages, on the important of insurance, and prompt them to purchase it at a timely point in their rental journey. 

“We’re working with partners in the rental chain to do just this, embedding our technology into their online platforms to automatically provide tenants with a quote, and offering monthly payment options that better align with consumer preferences. We really believe that when tenants see it’s cheaper than they thought it was, they’re much more likely to purchase. 

“After all, if you can afford to pay for a monthly Netflix subscription, why wouldn’t you spend the same amount on protecting your worldly belongings and against damaging the landlord’s property?”