Fitting a smoke alarm is not only a common sense safety tip but it could help to cut the cost of your home insurance.
A fire is every homeowner’s nightmare and according to Direct Line insurance, household fires in the UK kill nearly 500 people and injure more than 11,000 every year.
Statistics also show you are twice as likely to die in a house that has no smoke alarm than a house that does.
Yet, despite all this, more than 33,000 people who have been quoted buildings and contents insurance through Confused.com this year said they do not have a smoke detector.
Will a smoke detector reduce your premium?
The answer is yes. Our research shows that of all those who retrieved a quote for home insurance on Confused.com between January and June 2010, and said they did not have a smoke detector, paid slightly more for their home insurance, around £3 on average.
While this saving won’t make you rich, it is a saving nonetheless and more importantly,
investing in a smoke detector might potentially save you and your home from a fire.
For smokers, the message to fit a smoke detector is even more important, not only are their home insurance quotes even higher than non smokers but, more worryingly, 14 per cent of those without a detector said they smoke in the home.
No fire without smoke
On average, a quote this year for a non-smoker, with a smoke alarm, was £187.60 on Confused.com but for someone without an alarm it rose to £190.10*. Smokers without an alarm paid five per cent more, with premiums reaching £197.86* on average.
Although DirectGov say that more household fires are caused by cigarettes than anything else,
smoke detectors are not a legal requirement and insurers are not obliged to make sure your home is protected before they’ll insure you.
The British Association of Insurance Brokers – BIBA - say this is because fire is covered as standard, no matter what precautions homeowner’s take: “Household fires are not intentional and that's why you have insurance, for unexpected accidents like a fire, so claims would normally be paid.”
And despite the extra fire hazard posed by smoking in the home, insurance premiums don’t seem to reflect that risk.
“It’s not a factor that is really taken into account by home insurers. There may be the odd insurer who makes a small differentiation but really it’s the life insurance market that cares most about smokers,” a BIBA spokesman added.
“Our thoughts are that we certainly recommend people fit a smoke alarm but I don’t think it could be made mandatory. However, there are extra precautions you can take to protect the home, and potentially save money on your home insurance.
Top fire safety tips
1) An obvious one but fit a smoke alarm. DirectGov recommend fitting one on each floor. However, if you have only one alarm and two floors, put it somewhere you’ll be able to hear it when you're asleep. Remember to test them regularly.
2) Let your insurer know if you have any other fire safety equipment in the home, like a fire blanket, or an extinguisher. It may reduce the price of your policy by around 5 per cent.**
3) If you’re a smoker, keep it outside and never leave a lit cigarette unattended.
4) Plan your escape – make sure everyone knows how to evacuate your home and ensure that all doors and windows can be opened easily.
5) If you have portable heaters keep them away from anything flammable and turn them off at night.
* Statistics based on average quotes for homeowners, aged 30-50, insuring £5k-£50k worth of contents, living in a semi-detached house worth £150k-£250k with no history of buildings or contents claims.
** Percentage based on the difference between the average home insurance quote and a quote for a smoker without a fire detector (Confused.com between January and June 2010.)
