Bargain hunters raising own home insurance premiums

Posted : 10-05-2006

Almost £1 billion worth of goods are purchased illegally in licensed premises, according to new research.

New research from Halifax Home Insurance revealed that some 5.6 million people have bought goods they suspect are stolen while in the pub. Furthermore, 3.7 million people would buy the goods even if they knew they were stolen, of which 2.4 million would not care if the goods obviously came from someone's home.

Lightweight and portable items such as DVDs, CDs and videos were the items most likely to be sold in pubs, followed by clothing, consumer electrical items, mobile phones and jewellery.

However, while consumers are no doubt considering the good deal they are getting, they are inadvertently raising their own home insurance premiums.

More than half of respondents to the survey said they would not report someone selling clearly stolen goods to the police. But this cavalier attitude to the sale of stolen goods is in fact making them easier to sell, making burglary an infinitely more lucrative activity than it otherwise might be.

Vicky Emmott, senior underwriter at Halifax Home Insurance, said: "Millions of Britons may be unwittingly fuelling a cycle of theft by making it easy for burglars to resell their products in pubs and bars.

"People should be aware that this is not a victimless crime, their pursuit of a bargain is part of the reason burglary remains a widespread social problem. It is crucial they report suspicious traders operating in public houses and we would urge the public to only purchase goods from legitimate sources."


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