'Liar buyers' compromising home insurance cover

Posted : 23-02-2006

Secret spending by women is a well known phenomenon, but new research has revealed that British men far outstrip their female counterparts in hiding their spending, with potentially dire financial consequences.

Research from Norwich Union found that British men smuggle £864 million worth of goods past their partners each year, mostly on electrical items, designers goods and sports products.

Rebecca Holmes from Norwich Union said: "Our research shows that the tables have turned. Men have always accused women of spending too much money on shopping, but now it's the men who are hiding their expensive shopping."

The average male 'liar buyer' spends £336 on forbidden treats, compared to just £227 for women.

However, keeping spending from partners' can have dire financial consequences, as this often means the value of a home's contents are undervalued in their home insurance policies.

Rebecca Holmes added: "If couples are lying to each other about the cost of what they are buying, are they also under-valuing their home contents insurance? If they haven't told their insurer the true value of their belongings they could lose out in the event of a claim.

"We strongly advise couples to be upfront with each other about their spending in order to avoid bigger financial problems later down the line."

But homeowners cannot afford to be complacent by thinking that 'liar buyers' are an isolated phenomenon. More than a third of men admitted to occasionally hiding spending from their partner, while one in ten women admitted to smuggling shopping past their partner at least once a month, meaning the discrepancy between the actual value of a home's contents may be considerably higher than the value covered in their home insurance policy.


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