Don’t let your guard down, says AA Insurance

Don’t let your guard down, says AA Insurance

Auckland – 5 February 2013 – With Christmas behind us and the summer holidays drawing to a close, now is a good time to re-evaluate your home’s insurance cover and safeguard your newly acquired possessions in case of theft or burglary.

The average AA Insurance claim for a burglary in 2012 was approximately $5,000 and the most common items reported stolen were smartphones and jewellery. Other items that topped claims included laptops, cameras and small electronic items. Most burglars are opportunistic and most break-ins are recorded during daylight hours, according to AA Insurance claims data. Thieves continue to use easy options to gain entry into a property with AA Insurance customers reporting that open windows and sliding doors were used most commonly.

“From speaking with customers we know that following a break-in people take extra steps to increase both their home security and ensure their home and contents have adequate insurance cover,” says Suzanne Wolton, Head of Customer Relations, AA Insurance. “Post-Christmas is the perfect time to re-evaluate the cover you have, as many people acquire new and expensive items over the holidays, whether they are given to them as presents or purchased in the sales.”

Customers should contact their insurance company and check what valuable items they need to list separately on the contents insurance policy.

“The most important thing a customer can do is keep proof of purchase or proof of ownership for all ‘big ticket’ items” says Suzanne. “This could be in the form of the original boxes, manuals, receipts, valuations or photos. This makes it much easier for us to source an equivalent replacement for them, quickly. Let your insurer know about valuables such as jewellery, antiques, cameras and computers so it can specify them on your policy. If we don’t know about the extra cover you need for your special items, the standard limit will apply.”
Taking pictures of receipts and items and backing them up on multiple devices is always going to be beneficial. To help customers estimate the value of some of the more general items a household might have, AA Insurance has an online Contents Calculator.

One AA Insurance customer returned from a long weekend to find her home broken into, despite her absence not being evident because the property was concealed from the street by trees and fencing. The offender cut the alarm and removed security lights leaving them on the lawn as though a contractor had been doing renovations. Unhindered the thief then proceeded to take his or her time and remove a good deal of the customer’s property.

While out of town another AA Insurance customer reported that thieves brought a moving truck down their driveway. When the customer returned home, they realised that everything was stolen, including the toilet. Police did catch up to the offenders, because the toilet was found for sale in a local second hand shop.
ENDS

About AA Insurance

AA Insurance was launched in 1994 and is a joint venture between New Zealand Automobile Association and Suncorp.

AA Insurance employs around 580 staff servicing more than 280,000 customers and manages over 500,000 policies covering motor, home and contents insurance.

AA Insurance was named as New Zealand’s best workplace at the 2011 JRA Best Workplaces Survey, winning the overall award and the large company category. From 2008 to 2012 AA Insurance has consistently been a finalist.

AA Insurance was also named winner of the 2012 New Zealand Insurance Industry Awards for Direct Insurance Company of the Year, as well as voted Most Trusted Insurer by New Zealanders in the Insurance Providers category of the 2012 Reader’s Digest Most Trusted Brands survey, conducted by Catalyst Research.

AA Insurance Limited has an A+ (Strong) Insurer Financial Strength Rating given by Standard and Poor’s (Australia) Pty Ltd. For further information visit www.aainsurance.co.nz.

AA Insurance is proud to support youth charity Blue Light as its principle corporate sponsor.

© Scoop Media