Lloyds TSB announces redundancy buffer on home insurance

Lloyds TSB has announced that if any of its new home insurance customers are made redundant they will not have to pay premiums for up to six months.

The waiver applies to any customer who purchases a Home Solutions policy in branch between 6 April and 6 June, and who is made compulsorily redundant between purchasing the policy and the end of 2009.

Lloyds TSB made the decision to provide this buffer after it found that 15% of customers have cancelled home insurance policies over the past year in an effort to cut costs.

A further 10% of customers said home insurance would be one of the first costs to be axed if their financial situation deteriorated.

An additional 13% said they are unlikely to renew their home or motor insurance policy when it next expires.

Six in ten, meanwhile, said they are worried about their financial circumstances.

Mike Canniffe, retail banking insurance director at Lloyds TSB, said: “British homeowners are increasingly find themselves in a Catch-22 situation.

“Despite feeling more concerned about the security of their homes, many are having to seriously consider cutting back on household essentials, such as insurance, just to make ends meet.

“In these uncertain economic times many of us are making sacrifices, but it’s alarming that so many are prepared to forego the valuable safety net insurance offers.”