Is your Christmas dinner insured? Warning issued as storms threaten UK freezers

With freezers across the UK already packed with turkeys, pigs in blankets and party platters, Go.Compare is urging households to check their home insurance before winter storms hit. Google Trends shows searches for “power cut freezer” spiked last January during severe weather, suggesting thousands of homes suddenly feared losing a freezer full of food.*

Food price data shows that common festive frozen items, including turkey, party platters, vegetables, desserts and buffet foods, typically come to a total cost of £180 to £260. This means that families could lose hundreds of pounds worth of Christmas treats if their freezer loses power ahead of the festive period.**

As forecasters warn of more strong winds and power outages this December, Go.Compare says a simple policy check could save households from having to replace this food themselves.

Why insurance matters: most policies WILL cover a ruined Christmas shop

New analysis from the comparison site reveals that the vast majority of home contents insurance policies include generous freezer-contents protection. In total, over 70% of policies provide £750 or more of freezer-contents cover, while around a fifth (21%) offer £400 to £749 worth of cover.*** Only two policies were found to offer no protection at all for this type of issue.

This means most insured households are already protected if a power cut, storm outage or breakdown causes Christmas food to spoil. Yet, many policyholders do not realise this cover exists, which means they either panic-buy replacements or throw away food unnecessarily.

Festive expert warning

Nathan Blackler, home insurance expert at Go.Compare, said: “Christmas food is expensive and freezers are full to the brim at this time of year. A power cut can cause an entire shop to spoil, but most home contents insurance policies will cover you for this. However, we’ve found that a lot of people don’t realise this and end up buying the replacements themselves rather than claiming on their policy.

“We’d urge all policyholders to check their insurance details to see if their cover includes protection for this. It takes just a minute to check and it could save you a lot of stress if storms hit again this winter. If you don’t do so already, it’s also worth keeping hold of the receipts for your more expensive freezer items, as your insurer may ask for these when you go to claim. Storing receipts away in a small folder can come in very handy in scenarios like this, so it’s worth doing just in case.”

Tips to protect your festive freezer

Go.Compare also shared its tips on how they can protect their food shop during a power outage:

1. Keep space between items so cold air circulates
2. Put a coin on a frozen cup of water - if the coin sinks, food has thawed
3. Do not open the freezer during a power cut unless necessary
4. Check your insurance cover before doing your big Christmas shop

Go.Compare’s freezer cover guide explains what is typically included and how to check your policy:
https://www.gocompare.com/home-insurance/contents-insurance/freezer-contents-cover/

ENDS