13 March 2010

Don't Turn Mother's Day Into Mishap Day, Warns M&S Home Insurance

• M&S Premier Home Insurance includes unlimited accidental damage cover for home and contents

With 95% of mothers set to enjoy a helping hand around the home from their husbands or children this Mother's Day, M&S Home Insurance is urging householders to take steps to avoid common domestic accidents this Sunday.

According to a survey by M&S Home Insurance, this Mother's Day almost two thirds (63%) of fathers will make their partner a romantic meal. Over a third (38%) will do the washing up or load the dishwasher and just under a third (31%) of fathers will do the laundry.

In addition, over a fifth (22%) of dads will help with the ironing and a quarter of them (24%) will run a bubble bath for their partner.

The most common Mother's Day activity for kids is to make a home made card or gift - almost two-thirds (65%) of kids will be doing this for Mum this year.

The survey showed that two fifths of children will be surprising Mum with breakfast in bed. In addition, just under a fifth (19%) of children will help around the home by doing the vacuuming.

Top five household mishaps when Dad or the children help around the home:

• Broken crockery when washing up (38%)
• A broken ornament/vase (21%)
• A DIY mishap such as paint spilling on flooring/carpets (20%)
• Iron burn on the carpet (19%)
• A leak – because of overfilling a washing machine/not shutting the washing machine door properly (14%)

M&S Premier Home Insurance includes unlimited accidental damage cover for the home and all contents. This policy can offer parents some peace of mind that such incidents in the home would be covered.

Marks & Spencer home insurance is available by telephone on 0800 068 2742 and online at www.marksandspencer.com/homeinsurance

ENDS

For further information please call the M&S Money press office:

Simon Coughlin on 020 7992 1574
simon.coughlin@mandsmoney.com

Liz Neild on 01244 686 068
liz.a.neild@mandsmoney.com

Notes to Editors

The research was conducted online between Wednesday 24th February – Sunday 28th February 2010 by OnePoll, with a total sample size of 1066 fathers with children under the age of 18 living at home (in the UK).

M&S Home Insurance - Key Features

• Unlimited cover on buildings and contents, limits apply to money and liability cover.
• No policy excess to pay except £1,000 for subsidence, heave and landslip claims, voluntary or compulsory excesses may apply. Items, sets or collections over £3,999 must be specified.
• M&S Home Insurance Premier Cover has been Five-Star Rated for features and benefits by Defaqto, an independent research company
• Save 20% when you apply online (available to new customers only) - discount is subject to minimum premium
• M&S Cardholders will receive 1000 M&S points, when they take out a new policy
• Customers have the option of taking out Home Emergency Cover and Legal Expenses Cover when buying your Home Insurance

M&S Money (the trading name of Marks & Spencer Financial Services) was founded in 1985 as the financial services division of Marks and Spencer Group plc, making 2010 the company's 25th anniversary.

The company is a top-ten credit card provider and the second-largest travel money retailer in the UK.  M&S Money also offers a range of insurance cover, including home insurance and car insurance, as well as loans, savings and investment products.

In November 2004, Marks & Spencer sold M&S Money to HSBC. HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of the HSBC Group, is headquartered in London. The Group serves customers worldwide from around 8,000 offices in 88 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa. With assets of US$2,364 billion at 31 December 2009, HSBC is one of the world's largest banking and financial services organisations. HSBC is marketed worldwide as ‘the world's local bank'.

M&S Money has an executive committee comprising an equal number of representatives from HSBC and Marks & Spencer.

M&S home insurance policies are provided by AXA Insurance UK plc. Terms, conditions, exclusions and limitations apply. Calls may be monitored and recorded.