The ‘Safe As Houses’ Online Survey By Legal & General Answers How Safe UK Homes Are!

‘Safe as Houses’ is the annual online survey conducted by Legal & General for general insurance business. It asks people for their views and feedback on home safety and security. The aim of this survey is to emphasize on the safety of homes in UK.

The survey is conducted to provide an understanding of the security of home owner and any other kind of safety concerns. In case, there are any precautions to take, those are also included. The survey can be viewed at www.legalandgeneral.com/safeashouses. There are some attractive offers for the people who take part in the survey. A post survey lucky draw will be conducted for the participants with winners taking away John Lewis vouchers valued up to £500. The survey lasts till 10th October Friday 2008; it is going on for a month.

The survey will enable Legal & General to build a very useful overview of the UK’s home safety concerns and so help us to understand whether customers need to do more to protect their homes and possessions. This is particularly important at a time when the public are concerned with the level of crime on our streets. For example, Legal & General’s Changing Face of British Homes research identified that vandalism has increased, with over a third of people, 33%,* stating that there had been increased incidences of intentional damage to property.

Households without any security measures were attacked by burglars almost ten times more than the ones which maintain some minimum levels of security for examples deadlocks put on doors and locks on window. This was revealed recently in a Crime in England and Wales 2007/2008 report**. The percentage of burglary is almost 25% in the former in comparison to 2.3 % in the latter. A key defence to burglary is chiefly home security.

Elaine Parkes, Head of technical services for Legal & General’s general insurance business said: “As a household insurer who is concerned that our customers understand their insurance cover, we believe it is important to improve consumer awareness of home safety and security measures. We have produced a special guide, Safeguarding Your Home***, which outlines how people may protect and safeguard their home and possessions.”

Elaine continued: “Installing an intruder alarm, good quality locks and security lighting or living in a Neighbourhood Watch area can all help to deter a burglar entering a person’s home. As well as providing customers with quality insurance cover we also offer customers a possible discount on the costs of their cover, if they do take some security and safety precautions.” Ends

Notes to Editors:
*. Legal & General’s Changing Face of British Homes research was conducted by YouGov, among a GB representative sample of 4,089adults between 12 and 15 February 2008.
** Link to crime stats is available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7511192.stm
*** The Legal & General special guide, Safeguarding Your Home, is available to download at http://www.legalandgenral.com/safeguard
1. Legal & General’s Changing Face of British Homes is an ongoing research by Legal & General’s general insurance business to understand how people from different demographic groups use and relate to their homes. The study will take a look at the home lives of people across the UK in order to understand their changing needs and tastes, http://www.changingfaceofbritishhomes.co.uk
2. The information contained in Legal & General’s press release is intended solely for journalists and should not be used by consumers to make financial decisions. Full consumer product information can be found at http://www.legalandgeneral.com or by calling 0800 0277156. We may record and monitor calls. Lines are open 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 5pm Saturday and Sunday. Alternatively, consumers should speak to their insurance adviser to check they do have adequate cover in place.
3. Legal & General Insurance Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).
4. Issued by Legal & General Insurance Limited. Registered address is One Coleman Street, London EC2R 5AA.

For more information contact:

Berni Ryan
PR Manager GI and Annuities
t:01737 375 369
m:07788926 790
f:01737 374 275
e: [email protected]

Contact:
Berni Ryan
Web Site: http://www.legalandgeneral.com
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 01737374275

Address:
Legal & General Insurance Limited
One Coleman Street,
London
UK
EC2R 5AA.