The survey reveals that while nearly half of respondents are not fully aware of what their insurance actually covers, the number of insured homes is growing. Some 44% of 9,506 respondents said they did not know what kinds of damage their coverage encompasses, which is 7% lower than earlier.

Aegonʼs press release notes that another purpose of the survey was to highlight that modern insurance policies offer coverage for damage occurrences most people do not even think are insured, such as food spoiling due to power blackouts, or vet fees for pets. Interestingly, 44% believe that their current insurance satisfies their needs, the same percentage as those who are unaware of the extent of their coverage.

The greatest amount of people are afraid of fire damage (41%), followed by burglary (about one-third), the same top two fears with approximately the same percentages as in the previous report.

However, this yearʼs survey also asked participants about actual recent causes of damage. While a mere 12% of people called pipe bursts a serious threat, it placed first among events that actually caused damage (34%), followed closely by storm damage (32%).

"The events people are most afraid of causing damage to their homes occur relatively rarely, luckily," observed Tamás Szombat, Aegonʼs deputy CEO.

Currently, 62% of those surveyed possess home insurance, a significant improvement over the previous result of 47%. Somewhat contrastingly, Aegonʼs non-survey data suggest 75% home insurance penetration in Hungary.

The coverage in Hungary is higher than the average of the Visegrád Four (Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia). Some 56% of those surveyed said they wish to add other elements to their coverage, such as life insurance and health services.

About 53% of respondents said their homes have already sustained damage, up from 51% previously.

The majority of participants in this yearʼs test were women (63%). Apart from the youngest age group (18-25 years, 3% of respondents), different age groups were represented roughly equally. While a large number of those surveyed are either residents of the capital or Pest county (22% in total), the company received answers from all over the country.