'Bling' Britons 'now own more than £52 billion in jewellery'
Date: 14/05/2008 12:00:00
British people are storing a massive £52 billion in jewellery inside their homes, new research suggests.
Halifax Home Insurance found the average house contains £1,986 of jewellery and also discovered some striking regional trends.
Northampton has been named the country's biggest 'bling town' where the average local wears around £469 worth of jewels a day, while Milton Keynes is the biggest 'magpie' area where the average house has £3,186 in jewellery.
Martyn Foulds, Halifax Home Insurance senior claims manager, said: "Our research shows that Brits own a staggering amount of jewellery and enjoy making a statement."
He also warned the company's figures also show ten per cent of people have not had their jewels valued in a decade.
This could mean some people could not make an up-to-date value claim on their
home insurance if their jewellery is stolen.
More than a quarter of people had had their jewellery valued recently but had then forgotten to call their home insurance provider with the update.
Government research has shown simple home security measures can dramatically reduce the chances of valuables being taken in a burglary.