Home may be where the heart is, but it is not always a place where we all feel safe and secure.
Nearly half (43%) of Britons admit they sometimes do not feel safe at home, the top worries include noisy streets (29%), unexpected visitors to the door (27%) and being alone at night (18%) according to the findings of the first Halifax Peace of Mind Index, from Halifax Home Insurance.
It aims to gets to the core of what makes people feel safe in their homes. Is it having a dog, living in the city, living with others, having the security of a burglar alarm, or peace of mind that they have adequate insurance should the unthinkable happen?
The Index provides a unique research-based ranking for how secure and safe different sectors of the UK population feel at home.
Analysis of independent research commissioned by Halifax Home Insurance and British Crime Survey data has led to seven separate "Peace of Mind" indicators made up of attitudinal and behavioural measures. They have been combined and re-based into a single index in which the UK mean average is 100.
The highest scoring person indexed 165, the lowest 21.
Key findings from the Halifax Peace of Mind Index include:
In general, women have a lower Peace of Mind than men;
There is higher Peace of Mind in more rural, less populated regions;
Surprisingly, women living alone have a higher Peace of Mind score than those living with parents, in shared accommodation or as a single parent;
There is greater Peace of Mind among homeowners than those renting or in housing association accommodation;
Top property fears are burglary, theft of belongings outside of the home and suffering a fire;
Those in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland have a higher Peace of Mind score than anywhere in England;
All men and women under 35 scored below the national Peace of Mind average, suggesting younger people feel less safe;
The bigger the city and denser the population, the more perceived elements of crime and danger.
The Index also highlights the aspects that help make Brits feel safe in their homes.
The majority of respondents (74%) feel reassured knowing all doors and windows have security locks on, more than two-thirds (67%) feel safer having a partner or family member in the home and more than half (51%) feel secure knowing there is a landline telephone in the property.
Martyn Foulds, Senior Claims Manager at Halifax Home Insurance said: “Society has changed significantly in the past few decades. The aim of the Halifax Peace of Mind Campaign as a whole, and the Peace of Mind Index as the crux of this, is to get to the core of what makes British people feel safe in the home.
"Although it reveals that the majority of Brits still feel safe in the home, some of the findings are surprising. For example, women living alone have a higher Peace of Mind score than those living with parents, in shared accommodation or as a single parent.
"Ultimately we hope that this report will act as a source of useful information and advice to help those who may face uncertainty or adverse circumstances at home in the future."
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