25 May 2010

M&S Money Urges Sports Fans To Check They Are Covered Before Summer Sporting Season

With the summer just around the corner, many Brits will be thinking about upgrading their gardens to enjoy major sporting events and spend time entertaining outdoors. M&S Money is advising those making new purchases or sprucing up their gardens to make sure they have adequate home insurance.

Research by M&S Money has found that the average UK garden contains £721 worth of plants, bushes and trees, but despite this, two thirds of householders fail to check if their greenery is covered by their existing insurance policy*.

Andrew Ferguson, M&S Head of General Insurance, said: "As the weather improves and events such as Wimbledon approach, many people will be looking to kit out their gardens for the party season with new furniture and plants. Some people may assume these items will be covered with their existing home contents cover, but this often isn’t the case, particularly for more expensive items."

Recent research has found that the level of protection of garden contents in home insurance policies vary greatly between providers**. M&S Home Insurance was found to be the only provider to offer unlimited contents cover for garden and outbuildings contents in its home insurance policy***.

Andrew Ferguson continues: "We would urge people to check their home contents policy covers them for garden goods, whether there is a limit to the cover and any other terms and conditions that apply. It is important that goods are stored safely, so that if a claim is necessary, you have peace of mind that it will be valid. M&S Home Contents Insurance includes unlimited contents cover to items in the garden and outbuildings.

For more information about M&S Home Insurance or to apply, customers can visit www.marksandspencer.com/homeinsurance

ENDS

Notes to Editors

* Survey carried out by YouGov for M&S Money. Total sample size was 1971 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken online between 18th - 20th March 2009.  The survey was carried out online. The figures were weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).

** Research conducted by Moneysupermarket.com, 26 April 2010 http://www.moneysupermarket.com/c/press-releases/protect-your-garden-treasures/0009099/

*** Limits apply to money and liability. Items, sets or collections over £3,999 must be specified.

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

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 8,500 offices in 86 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa. With assets of US$2,422 billion at 30 June 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.