Millions of people could be invalidating their home insurance by leaving windows open during the summer months even when they are away from the house. One leading insurer has said.

In a survey of 2,000 people by Swinton Insurance, 81% of those interviewed were unaware that leaving windows open when out of the house could invalidate their home insurance, and 72% admitted to leaving windows when they were away from the house in the last month.

23% said they were worried about leaving pets alone in unventilated rooms in the hot weather, and left a window open to let some cool air in.

Steve Chelton, from Swinton said: “Each year there are thousands of burglaries as result of people not carrying out basic safety measures, such as locking window and doors.

“Even though the hot weather makes us relaxed, we should not become complacent with the safety of our homes. At Swinton we advise everyone to ensure that their windows and doors are locked before leaving the house, even if just popping out for a few minutes.

“Failing to carry out these preventative measures could invalidate home insurance, which will leave people severely out of pocket if burgled.”

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 1st, 2009 at 11:10 am and is filed under Home Insurance, Insurance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.