The number of customers seeking to insure items stored in safety deposit boxes has doubled since a high-profile jewellery robbery in London, an insurer has said.
The value of items stolen from Hatton Garden Safe Deposit over Easter has been estimated at £35m, says jewellery insurance provider Assetsure. It said around 70 deposit boxes were opened in the raid.
Marketing manager Bob Andrews said: "A number of people who stored their jewellery and valuables in banks or secure facilities didn't think it was possible for them to be stolen - this has now all changed.
"Not all such facilities insure the goods they store - as in the case of the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit raid. This has highlighted the fact that no security precaution is ever completely watertight and that, unless your items are fully insured, their value is not protected."
Speaking at a press conference, Harry Levy, president of the London Diamond Bourse trading association, explained the possibility of retrieving compensation for the small businesses whose items were uninsured was "very limited".
The burglary took place between 2-3 April. Assetsure said the exact value of losses had not been released by the Metropolitan Police as the case is still under investigation.
