Digital music is not covered by most policies

Sunday 31 January 2010 01:00 GMT
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The overwhelming majority of UK home insurance policies do not cover digital music downloads which can be lost in cases of burglary or damage, according to Sainsbury's Bank.

Britons have amassed £1.3bn in downloads with 36 per cent of the adult population owning at least one downloaded item of music.

"Downloading music has taken off in recent years, but many home insurance policies are lagging behind in terms of covering people for their purchases," Ben Tyte from Sainsbury's Bank said. "There may be an assumption from consumers that once they've made a purchase any loss could be recovered from the retailer, but most outlets allow for only a single download. It's a good idea to back up your collection."

The findings show that men download a far greater value of music than women: the average man owns more than £125 worth of downloads, compared with less than £40 for women. Only 28 home insurance policies offer cover for downloads up to the value of £2,000 or more. While more people aged 18 to 24 own downloaded music than any other age group (58 per cent), even the over-65s are downloading tunes, with 12 per cent having done so.

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