Six-fold increase in insurance claims for smashed television screens, as parents juggle working from home with childcare, during Covid-19 lockdown

“Junior, Junior…. you just smashed the TV screen!”
Six-fold increase in insurance claims for smashed television screens, as parents juggle working from home with childcare, during Covid-19 lockdown

June 17/06/2020

April and May, with most of the UK population under lockdown, saw a six-fold increase in insurance claims for smashed TV screens, according to figures from home appliances insurance cover provider Prominence Support.
The number of claims for smashed LCD and OLED television screens reached unprecedented levels over the past two months, up 718% versus the same period in 2019.
The rise in claims coincided with kids being off school, and home-schooled by parents, many of whom were having to juggle remote working with trying to supervise their children.
Combined claims for smashed screens were also up 406%, when comparing March and April with the previous two months, before Covid-19 brought the country to a grinding halt.
The number of claims made for broken TVs - not just smashed screens - more than doubled, up 106% during April and May compared to the corresponding period last year.
Prominence Support claims team have taken a huge level of calls since the pandemic gripped the nation. Three of the more amusing claims made to the team, were:
1) A customer called to make a claim the same day on two different appliances, then said: “third time’s a charm”.
2) A customer contacted the team to verify his policy was active. When we confirmed it was, he started screaming - calling out to his son: ''Junior! Junior! - what did you just do, you just smashed the TV screen''. He then said to us: “He literally just smashed the TV, I am so glad I have you guys on the phone”.
4) A customer called to claim on a washing machine, and after the advisor lodged the claim, asked if there was anything else we could help them with.
They responded: ''There could be something wrong with the TV. It may have Covid-19 but I don't watch the TV anymore for fear of getting COVID 19 - there are too many coronaviruses on TV.”
Prominence Support also saw a spike in claims across all home appliances in April and May, as cookers, washing machines, toasters etc were more heavily used than normal, as the majority of people were house-bound.
Claims to repair or replace popular home appliances were up by more than half (54%) in April and May vs the corresponding two months in 2019.
Lorraine Taylor, claims manager at Prominence Support, comments:
“Being under lockdown has not only taken its physical and emotional toll on many people, but it also seems to have taken its toll on our home appliances.
“We have seen an unprecedented level of claims to repair or replace broken home appliances, and in particular smashed televisions.
“The high level of claims made for smashed screens has, not surprisingly, coincided with kids being off school and parents trying to remote work. Under the circumstances, a little more TV time than normal is totally understandable.
“Accidents will happen and no-one is to blame. Many parents are under pressure to work full days, and it’s impossible to supervise young, school-age kids, all day.
“We are here to support our customers over this difficult period, and make sure that any essential home appliances are fixed or replaced as soon as possible. It’s stressful enough under lockdown without having to deal with a broken appliance.”


About Prominence Support
Prominence Support offers a range of insurance products for domestic consumers; providing insurance cover for home appliances. They have insured thousands of customers and their core objective is to offer comprehensive, competitive and affordable cover with supreme protection and coverage.