The association of British insurers reported recently that the cost of fire damage in the UK has risen dramatically, and has now reached record levels. It comes as a surprise to the UK, but the governing body has pointed out that over half of the claims for fire damage have come from arson, attributed to the recession. These fraudulent claims have bumped up the costing for the rest of the UK population, with socially deprived areas and schools claiming the majority of arson attacks. Around twenty schools a week have become victim of this crime, which is a worryingly high statistic.
The ABI's director general, Nick Starling, comments: "While the numbers of fires may have been falling, the increase in large-scale fires is increasingly putting lives at risk, and puts more pressure on businesses in these already difficult trading times."
During the first half of 2010, insurance companies paid out a total of six hundred and thirty nine million pounds, which breaks down to over 3.6 million pounds per day.
2008 was recorded as the highest on record, with 1.3 billion pounds being paid out to UK insurance customers, and this cost on society has just kept rising.
If this amount of claims carries on, then the average UK Home Insurance customer will look to be paying a much higher premium in the future. With the economy pulling itself back from the abyss, hopefully the number of arson attacks on buildings will reduce, signalling an end to the high Home Insurance claims, and causing premiums to plateau.
