Go.Compare urges Christmas shoppers to check insurance before stashing gifts in the car boot

It can be hard to find a good hiding place for Christmas presents – especially for those with curious children – but think twice before stashing presents in the boot of your car, Go.Compare car insurance advises.

While it’s never a good idea to store valuables in the car, the comparison site has also found that, as well as the security risk it poses, the cover provided for personal possessions varies significantly across car insurance products. Belongings left in your car are insured when you have personal possessions cover, but while this is included with most comprehensive car insurance policies, third party, fire and theft (TPO) policies often don’t offer the same protection.

Go.Compare looked at 305* standard comprehensive car insurance products and found that, while 289 do cover personal possessions as standard, the financial cover that’s offered can vary significantly, revealing that:

• Almost 1 in 5 (18%) products cover less than £150 worth of personal possessions
• 34% offer cover of between £150 and £249,
• 34% of products offer cover between £250 and £399,
• And 14% of car insurance products will cover possessions worth £400 or more.

Ryan Fulthorpe, insurance spokesperson at Go.Compare said on the findings: “We would never recommend keeping anything valuable in the car, but if you’ve been ordering presents online or shopping on the High Street, the car boot might seem like a great hiding place – away from prying eyes. But if anything should happen while gifts are stored in the trunk, you may find that your car insurance doesn’t cover the loss.”

However, Go.Compare also found that if your car insurance policy doesn’t provide enough cover, you could also be covered by a home contents insurance policy and personal possessions cover.

This protects your belongings against theft, loss and accidental damage when you take them outside the home.

Ryan continued: “More often than not, home insurance policies will provide some level of cover for personal possessions in the car, but as with car insurance, the limits of cover will vary. So if you’re buying expensive gifts such as laptops or mobile phones, you will need to check that you are covered for these items away from the home.

“Our research found that, out of 332 home contents products, 43% (145) provide cover for personal possessions in a car up to the contents or personal possessions sum insured on the contents policy. However, some insurance companies will only cover “everyday items”, so you might find that they will not cover gifts hidden in a car.”

In general, home contents insurance policies were found to offer a higher level of cover for personal possessions, with the research revealing that 20% of policies offer £1500 or more worth of cover. But Go.Compare warns that there’s no guarantee that Christmas presents will be considered as personal possessions, and your insurer may want proof that they were hidden away from view in a locked boot.

For more information about personal possessions cover on your home and car insurance, please visit: https://www.gocompare.com/car-insurance/guide/personal-possessions-cover/ and https://www.gocompare.com/home-insurance/guide/personal-possessions-insurance/.          

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