Joint APPG Poverty/APPG Insurance and Financial Services event

Posted on 15 Jul 2014 under Previous Publications, Working with Business

The APPG Poverty was pleased to host a joint breakfast roundtable in Parliament with the APPG on Insurance and Financial Services with the aim of putting insurance protection (namely bespoke contents package for social housing tenants) back on the agenda. The event was kindly sponsored by Living Wage employer Aviva.

 

Much of the debate around financial services seems to focus on the cost of living and debt – particularly the Wonga’s of this world – rather than promoting and encouraging people to protect themselves against financial shocks (less than 4 out of 10 have insurance).

 

The majority of social housing tenants can arrange insurance easily with their landlord to cover their possessions for a small additional payment with their rent – some schemes costing as little as 50p per week to cover £6K of possessions.  This is probably less than the cost of insuring only one item purchased through a retail store on weekly credit with compulsory insurance but take up remains stubbornly low.

 

The APPG for Poverty and the APPG for Insurance and Financial Services together with key third party stakeholders all supported raising the profile of this important protection product which requires some innovative thinking to increase take up amongst those living in poverty who are often most at risk of being the victims of burglary.

 

Aviva used their sponsorship of Quids In (social enterprise publishing) research data to bring new insight into the lack of take up of contents insurance for social tenants, explaining the unique  bespoke product for this mainly low income sector of our society. http://www.socialpublishingproject.com/2014-survey-report.html

 

As a result of this roundtable, Cathy Jamieson MP tabled two written questions:

• To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when he last met representatives of the insurance industry to discuss basic insurance products for low-income households in the private and social rented sectors.
• To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the number of households in the UK which are not covered by household contents insurance in the (a) social rented sector and (b) private rented sector.