Is insurance optional / mandatory in UK?

Question

I stumbled on this in Yahoo news, about insurance fraud in UK.

Pls see article here:
http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/18082006/389/insurance-don-t-fake-claim.html

Beyond the obvious and reasonable, i.e.: auto and driver's liability, there ARE inevitabilities, for example fire insurance in the States bc residential housing is mostly matchsticks and cardboard. But UK bldgs are oftener brick and mortar, no ?

Or some Far East countries in which by collusion and mendacity "life" insurance is sold on a naive public for gross profit alone, and claim settlements almost _never_ happen. But that's tangential.

So, what gives ?

Just seeking clarification.

Thks.

Answere ahdunno...tangential, meaning pertaining to the craft of SELLING insurance, though not germane to the question.

Answerer NutstersChick...realistic, yet quite
depressing. I should've stood in bed this AM instead of fireing up the 'Puter, it seems

Answer 1

You don't need by law to have house insurance, although your mortgage provider may insist that you do as a condition.
Content insurance is not obligatory, but it covers you for third party liability, so if you cause damage to a neighbours property then contents insurance covers you. I had a flood in my flat, it leaked downstairs and ruined carpets and decorations of my neighbour, at the time I had no contents cover.

Answer 2

You don't need any insurance except for cars etc, you needn't have your home insured, but you would be breaking the requirements of any mortgage you might have, you don't need to have your contents insured, but make sure you have a big bank balance to replace anything stolen or damaged as the average value of the contents of a three bedroom house is about 40,000 pounds. If you dont have your home insured as you haven't got a mortgage, then you would be liable to pay out any damages caused by tiles falling from the house, etc, which could well run into several hundreds of thousands of pounds, so you would be forced to sell your house to pay it. Remember, bricks and mortar do burn and you house could be reduced to a pile of rubble by a fire. Stupid really not to pay the couple of hundred a year to insure it.

Answer 3

Apart from cars and businesses, etc. insurances aren't mandatory. I have never had any kind of insurance policy and, to be honest, I would begrudge paying into one because it wouldn't be worth it. I haven't got a lot anyway so I'd probably end up paying more in insurance than the value of the goods covered. I suppose it is peace of mind for some people and you might regret not having insurance if you end up needing it but it can be more hassle than it's worth. You still have to come up with the first part of any payments with most insurance anyway.

Answer 4

A certain level of auto insurance is mandatory. Everything else is optional, although you may be required to have house insurance by your mortgage lender. However, most people in the UK opt to have insurance - they choose to insure the contents of their home, for example, and they mostly choose a higher level of auto insurance than the legal minimum.

Answer 5

U cannot drive a car in the UK without insurance.

Insurance fraud is nothing new.
Fraud has been paying 4 many a terrorist organisation 4 the past decade or so.
The UK is returning 2 the Rip-Off Britain that it always has been, add the fact that many Brits have been conned, scammed & ripped of by organised criminal gangs.
Honesty is a dying trend.

Answer 6

You need Car and Motorbike Insurance to at least cover a 3rd Party.
We don't require house and contents insurance to guard against fire and theft, it is a good idea though.

Everything else is covered by National Insurance

Answer 7

whenever Insurance comes up you should always ask the sales person representative the question you've posed here, is this insurance mandatory or personal choice and have it stated somewhere on the policy or covering letter then you can have it checked by the Insurance Ombudsman if you have doubts and no Insurance company will put mandatory on anything that isn't.

Answer 8

You questions is a little confusing - there are two areas in which insurance is mandatory - car insurance is one, buildings insurance is the other.

Answer 9

For driving, it is illegal not to have insurance. For houses you have to have insurance if you have a mortgage. Content insurance isn't a legal requirement.

Answer 10

do you mean Tangible, or Tangenital



it is an offence to drive a vehicle on UK roads without suitable insurance