A quarter of Brits don't understand their home insurance: Sky Protect and Ellie Taylor team up to help homeowners by reimagining classic fairy tales

• Over a quarter (27%) of British homeowners confess that they do not understand how to make a claim on their current home insurance policy 
• Despite paying £340 a year on average, over one million can’t even name their insurance provider
• In a bid to reengage disenchanted Brits about the benefits of home protection, Sky Protect has teamed up with Ellie Taylor to create Happily Ever Smarter – a collection of classic fairy tales reimagined with a smart tech twist 
• Sky Protect Smart Home Insurance offers customers comprehensive home insurance and smart home tech that work together in one simple app

New research from Sky Protect has exposed the current apathy and lack of understanding among home insurance customers.  Not only did home insurance come top of a list of the most boring topics to talk about, over a quarter (27%) confessed they don’t even know how to make a claim on their current home insurance policy. 

The study of 2,000 UK homeowners found that almost half (48%) of Brits rank their home and belongings amongst their top priorities in life – way above both wealth (29%) and career (21%). However, homeowners admit to spending more time researching a mobile phone upgrade (3hr) or new furniture (5hr) than their home insurance (2hr).  

The research was conducted to mark the launch of Sky Protect Smart Home Insurance – an innovative smart home protection service, offering customers comprehensive home insurance and smart home tech that work together in one simple app. 

To help educate disenchanted homeowners about the benefits of home protection, Sky Protect has teamed up with comedian, actor and best-selling author, Ellie Taylor, to reimagine classic fairy tales with a sprinkling of Sky Protect magic. The addition of innovative smart home tech helps to spot little problems before they become big issues which results in a few, unexpected fairy tale twists.  

Please visit www.skygroup.sky/skyprotectmedia to find the full reimagined Happily Ever Smarter fairy tales.  

Ellie Taylor, comedian, actor and best-selling author, comments: “Let’s be honest, insurance is traditionally pretty dull. So, I was pleasantly surprised when Sky mentioned reimagining classic fairy tales for the launch of Sky Protect. With the latest smart home devices and comprehensive insurance cover, those classic tales that we all know and love turn out rather differently. Especially for that little troublemaker Goldilocks! 

“It’s been nice injecting a bit of fun into the topic of home insurance. When you think about the things that are most important in your life, you start to realise how important it is to have effective home protection in place.” 

The Apathy Price Tag

According to the research, over two million homeowners do not know what their home insurance covers (12%)*. Similarly, despite paying, on average, over £340 a year to their provider, one-in-ten (1.75m) do not know when their cover expires and 6% (1.05m) don’t know who their provider is.  

Being burgled (57%), having a leak (47%) and fire damage (41%) topped the list of homeowners’ biggest fears about home safety and security. Despite this, a staggering one in five (21%) unprepared Brits admit to not reading any terms of their home insurance, with top reasons including not understanding the legal jargon in the contract.   

The Value of Smart Home Tech

In contrast to home insurance apathy, over a third of homeowners (36%) said they now have smart tech in their property, which just under a third (31%) actively engage with at least once a week (31%).  

The full Sky Protect package features the latest smart home tech products including a Video Doorbell, Indoor Camera, Motion and Contact Sensors and Leak Detectors – all bundled into one great value service.  

Sky Protect offers customers the best protection and peace of mind 24-7, with Home Emergency, Legal and Cyber cover included as standard. With the smart-tech functions easily accessible via the Sky Protect app, customers will be able to see their insurance working for them every single day – representing real value and ease for customers. 

Excerpt from Goldilocks & the Three Bears: 

In a land not so far far away, in a quiet corner of a popular commuter village, there lived a family who loved their outdoorsy lifestyle and sustainably built house. They also happened to be Bears. 

There was big Papa Bear, middle-sized Mama Bear, and little Baby Bear. 

Although all of them rejected these outdated sizeist terms, they had to admit, they were fairly accurate. 

The bears were the sort of family who enjoyed getting up early at the weekend and being out in nature together, or at least that was the impression given by their Instagram. 

Early one Saturday, while the overnight oats Papa Bear had prepared were reaching room temperature, the three bears headed out for a spot of wild swimming - a trend Papa Bear had spotted on social media amongst self-described ‘wellness seekers’. 

As they reached a forest clearing, Mama Bear received an alert on her phone. Baby Bear worried it was work, as Mama Bear was not good at switching off at weekends, but it was in fact the bears’ Sky Protect app. 

She said it was probably another honey delivery, or perhaps that Alaskan Salmon she’d ordered for Papa Bear’s birthday. But, in fact, it was alerting them that the motion sensor in their living room had detected movement. 

“Oh crikey! There’s an actual intruder inside our house”, said Papa Bear, doing his best to appear calmer than he felt inside. 

They opened the app on Mama Bear’s phone to check a live stream from their indoor camera. To their astonishment, they saw an uninvited guest.  

A young golden-haired stranger, approached their breakfast table and ate from the biggest bowl of overnight oats. This mischief was too much even for bears to bear. 

Notes to Editors: 

Research conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Sky.  

Nationally representative sample of 2,000 UK homeowners who have home insurance.  

Survey conducted online between 5th April and 12th April 2023 

*Based on approximately 17.5m homeowners across the UK (ONS, Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) 

Insurance cover fixed for 24 months. Changes made to the policy may impact pricing. Cancellation charges apply. 

Sky Protect is an insurance intermediary. Neos is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Financial Services Register No. 752145) 

For more information, please contact: 

Red Consultancy  

SkyProtectTeam@redconsultancy.com