20/02/2005

From CDs to banana stickers, a report released today claims that the UK is a nation of budding collectors.  With the proliferation of ‘Bargain Hunt’ style TV programmes and online auctioneering, the nation now admits to owning £34bn* of collectables.

The survey conducted by Churchill Home Insurance prompted 75% of the UK to admit that they had their own private collection, with men claiming to be the worst affected by the craze.  A third of males said that their hoarding is taking over the home and 14% declared that it is an obsession.

The nation’s commitment to these collections is so significant that 20% of respondents declared that their partner’s collections were often the source of arguments.  Over 18% of respondents have had to change the home around to accommodate their expanding hoard with 13% using a dedicated room.
 

The survey also shows that the nation’s average collection is worth just over £2,000 and that the UK is spending over half a billion pounds** each month on their hobby.

Churchill’s Head of Home Insurance, Martin Scott said, “Collecting and trading of belongings is clearly a favourite of the nation with millions of pounds worth, being collected every day.  With so much value accumulated through these personal items, it is vital that homeowners have the right level of contents insurance to protect their investment.”

Churchill’s survey shows that just 18% of respondents have taken extra steps to insure their collections and still around a quarter*** of the nation have no contents insurance at all.

Scott said, “The value of our home contents creeps up with every purchase.  Homeowners not only need to consider the total sum of their contents, but also specific cover on bigger purchases such as paintings, antiques and jewellery.”

The top ten items collected are:
 

1. CDs
2. Books
3. DVDs
4. Stamps
5. Antiques
6. Magazines/comics
7. Teddy Bears
8. Jewellery
9. Records
10. Toys

More obscure collections included:
 

1. Banana stickers
2. Cigarette rolling papers
3. Rubbers/Erasers
4. Homepride ‘Fred’ figures
5. Polar Bear trinkets

The survey not only revealed what we collect and its value, but also how the nation catalogues such prize possessions. When it comes to organisation over a third (36%) of men won’t rest unless their CD collection is alphabetically ordered. This compares to over half of women who just stack randomly.

The survey over 1,000 respondents was carried out by 72 Point Limited in February 2005.

*average collection worth £2,098.80 X 75% of 22m(16.5m) households = £34,630,200,000
**monthly spend = 75% of UK Households (16.5m) X £31.05 average spend
***Data Monitor report on Home Insurance 2004

Contact:

Greg Dawson
Churchill Insurance
020 8285 3277
pressoffice@churchill.com