In essence, the term home emergency insurance and assistance' encompasses policies that are sold on a stand-alone basis, or bundled with household insurance, banking products or utility services, that cover one or more of the following home-related problems:
- malfunctioning of gas boilers, gas supply pipes or gas central heating;
- problems with plumbing, drainage and water supply pipes;
- electrical emergencies and breakdowns.
Moreover, in several European markets, other types of cover are sometimes included within home emergency policies, most notably key or lock emergency insurance. In some cases, policies may also extend to other services such as emergency accommodation, child care, pet care or even psychological assistance following an emergency.
What are the key features of the research?
Key features of this report include:
quantification of the market size for home emergency insurance and assistance: how much is the market really worth across the ten countries considered in Europe, how does it break down by policy type and by country, and how is likely to have grown by 2014?
identification of providers of home emergency insurance and assistance that have established relationships with energy firms, water companies and household insurers;
the results of detailed consumer research covering the developed UK market including the perceived value and actual use of home emergency insurance and assistance in this market and analyses concerning the distribution channels used by customers to acquire the product;
assessment of the degree to which insurance companies currently bundle home emergency cover with their mainstream household insurance policies: in which countries could this practice impact upon the development of the stand-alone market for home emergency insurance and assistance?
