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OFF BEAT: Most expensive items not most valuable to homeowners

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To the average British homeowner, an authentic Monet watercolor hanging on the wall isn’t worth as much as the 8x10 glossy of the family trip to Parliament hanging next to it, according to a study by the Welsh insurance resources website Confused.com.

In a survey of 2,000 homeowners in the United Kingdom, 74% said items like family photos, letters and children’s drawings were more precious to them than the most expensive items in their homes. On the spectrum of valued sentimental possessions, 41% listed photos as the most irreplaceable.

Men were slightly more likely than women (29% to 23%) to place top sentimental value to the most financially valuable item in their home, though more women included jewelry among their most precious items, according to the survey results.

However valuable—financially or otherwise—their possessions might be, there’s a good chance they’re not insured against theft or damage. According to Confused.com, more than one-third of London homeowners said they do not have any home insurance, compared to the national average of 20% without insurance. The survey noted that deferral of insurance persists even as one in every five homeowners surveyed said they’d been burglarized at some point.

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