UK music lovers get the download blues

David Burrows

Jan 29th 2010

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Filed under: Personal Finance, Insurance

Man holding his head in his hands Millions of us Brits have caught on to the benefits of music downloads but how many of us have our catalogue of music insured? According to research from Sainsbury's Home Insurance, very few of us.

Sainsbury's research reveals that UK music lovers have amassed an estimated £1.3bn worth of digital downloads from online stores such as iTunes and Amazon.

But the supermarket points out to online shoppers that almost three quarters of home insurance policies do not cover digital purchases.

Over a third of the adult population owns downloaded music and the average online music shopper now values their music download collection at around £85.

But that is just the average, for music afficionados who download on a regular basis the values are massively higher
In fact just under one million people estimate that they have well over £250 worth of downloads.

Often the value of the tracks collected on personal computers amounts to thousands of pounds worth of music - in many cases uninsured.

Tracks of my tears

Alarmingly, only a quarter of home insurance policies offer any cover at all for these purchases and just 10% of insurers cover downloads to the value of £2,000 or more.

Any loss of computer hard-drive caused by theft or fire could leave people with no recompense. The most avid music lovers out there could find themselves seriously out of pocket as well as without music they have painstakingly compiled over a number of years.

Sainsbury's research showed that in many instances people thought they had cover when they didn't. According to the supermarket bank, only 5% of people downloading digital music know for certain that their digital music is covered.

Cover me

Over half of the people surveyed said they had no idea what the details of their insurance policy were for this.

Ben Tyte, Sainsbury's Home Insurance manager, said: "Downloading music has taken off in recent years, but many home insurance policies are lagging behind in terms of covering people for their purchases.

"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 only allow for a single download.

"The likes of Amazon and iTunes do offer receipts via online accounts so even if a computer was totally destroyed the customer would be able to retrieve these and claim for their loss on their home insurance policy.

Tyte adds: "It's also a good idea to back-up your collection onto another computer as a precautionary measure."

Just 28 home insurance policies, equivalent to 10% of the market offer cover for downloads up to the value of £2,000 or more.

So it makes sense for all who download regularly to check their home insurance policies to ensure they are covered.

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