Santander Insurance Improves Home Cover With Launch of Choices and Peace of Mind Plus

LONDON, February 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Santander Insurance has improved the cover and limits on its home insurance (http://products.santander.co.uk/insurance/homeinsurance.html) products with the launch of Choices and Peace of Mind Plus.

Choices will replace the current Essentials product to become the home insurance product of choice for consumers across the UK. A Defaqto 3-Star Rated product for both buildings and contents cover (buildings only cover not available), it will offer the customer:

    
    * Blanket buildings sum insured cover of up to GBP500,000 as standard
    * Temporary accommodation, ground rent and loss of rent cover up to 
      GBP50,000
    * The ability to specify the contents sum insured they want, up
      to GBP55,000
    * A compulsory excess of GBP150 for buildings and contents
      including accidental damage

Peace of Mind Plus will replace its popular predecessor Peace of Mind, offering an unlimited total sum insured for both building and contents. The product has a 5-Star Rating from Defaqto and is available as a combined buildings and contents policy or as separate buildings and contents policies - it will offer the following:

    
    * Up to GBP10,000 of cover per incident for contents temporarily removed 
      from the home
    * Cover for the cost of re-landscaping the garden following
      insured damage up to GBP2,500
    * A compulsory excess of just GBP95 for buildings and contents including 
      accidental damage
    * Cover for single items of valuables worth up to GBP2,500
      without the need to note them individually on the policy
    * Cover for single personal possessions up to GBP2,500 without
      the need to specify the items under personal possessions cover (pedal 
      cycles limit is GBP300)
    * Cover for ground rent the customer is still required to pay if the home 
      cannot be lived in following insured damage

Colin Greenhill, Director for Santander Insurance, commented: "Buying your home insurance based solely on price may seem like a good idea, but it may also leave you with poor cover and at risk of being underinsured. If this is the case you may end up paying more in the long run for not having enough cover when you come to make a claim.

"Over the last few years our home insurance products have gained a reputation as offering value-for-money with some of the best cover available in the market. The introduction of Santander Choices and Peace of Mind Plus will continue this offering, providing consumers with a choice of products that will offer the most suitable cover for their needs. And once again, these products have been independently analysed and appraised by leading independent research from Defaqto."

Both products will continue to offer family legal protection, personal possessions and extended accidental damage cover and there will be no changes to the current voluntary excesses that customers can pay to reduce their premiums.

Customers can apply by visiting any local Santander branch or by contacting Santander by telephone on 0800-670-680.

The information contained in our press releases is intended solely for journalists and should not be used by consumers to make financial decisions.

Notes to Editors

1. For properties with 6 or more bedrooms, the contents sum insured is specified by the customer.

About us

Banco Santander (SAN.MC, STD.N, BNC.LN) is a retail and commercial bank, based in Spain, with presence in 10 main markets. Services include bank accounts (http://products.santander.co.uk/bankaccounts.html), mortgages (http://products.santander.co.uk/mortgages.html) and personal loans (http://products.santander.co.uk/loans.html). At the close of June 2010, Santander was the largest bank in the euro zone by market capitalization and, at the end of 2009, fourth in the world by profit. Founded in 1857, Santander had EUR 1,365 billion in managed funds. Santander has more than 90 million customers, 13,671 branches - more than any other international bank - and 170,000 employees. It is the largest financial group in Spain and Latin America, with leading positions in the United Kingdom and Portugal and a broad presence in Europe through its Santander Consumer Finance arm. In the first half of 2010, Santander registered EUR4,445 million in net attributable profit.

Santander UK is a full-service retail and commercial bank providing services to 25 million customers in more than 1,400 branches and around 4,500 cash machines.