123 Million kitchen gadgets gather dust in UK homes

• 65 per cent of Brits own pricey kitchen gadgets that they never, or very rarely, use
• 10.5 million food processors, 9.6 million slow cookers and 7.7 million bread makers taking up space in UK homes
• Value of unused kitchen gadgets estimated to be £8 billion
   

Fancy kitchen gadgets may well be in vogue, but millions of these costly items are simply gathering dust. New research1 from Direct Line Home Insurance reveals that 65 per cent of Brits own pricey kitchen technology, including bread makers, coffee machines and food processers that rarely or never get used.

With the cost of each of these culinary contraptions averaging £65.51, this equates to a staggering £8 billion worth of kitchen equipment almost untouched in UK homes.

Approximately 10 per cent of the kitchen gadgets gathering dust in people’s cupboards have never even been used. The remaining kitchen gadgets have seen daylight an estimated six times, which brings the cost of toasting a sandwich, brewing a coffee or using any of the other gadgets people hoard, to around £10.68* every time.

The most commonly owned but unused kitchen gadgets are toasted sandwich makers, with 26 per cent of Britons possessing but rarely using one. Food processors (21 per cent) slow cookers (19 per cent) and George Foreman grills were also high up on the list of pricey gadgets lying dormant in our homes.

Jenny Trueman, home insurance manager at Direct Line, comments:"Cooking more adventurous dishes at home is certainly a growing trend and perhaps a reason why we own so many of these pricey gadgets. The value of these items really do add up and this is something worth remembering when it comes to home insurance. It is easy to underestimate how much your possessions are worth so don't forget the unused or unseen items in your home as these still count."

Top 10 unused kitchen gadgets:

Source: Direct Line Home Insurance, 2013

Ends

Notes to editors

1Study conducted by Opinium Research 4th – 7th January 2013 amongst 2013 UK adults. Results have been extrapolated up based on applying the percentage of UK adults in the nationally representative survey to the number of people in the UK (49,969,000) according to the ONS. The term ‘very rarely’ refers to use of the item less than once every six months.

*Based on dividing the average value of gadgets by the average number of times respondents said they have used them. Those answering "10+" were counted as 12.5

**Assumes one of each item per person saying they owned it

For further information please contact:

Katie Pugh
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
DirectLineGroup@citigatedr.co.uk
0207 282 2914

Claire Foster
PR Manager
Direct Line
claire.foster@directlinegroup.co.uk
020 8285 8682
07900 217 264

Direct Line

Started in 1985, Direct Line became the first UK insurance company to use the telephone as its main channel of communication. It provides motor, home, travel and pet insurance cover direct to customers by phone or on-line.

Direct Line general insurance policies are underwritten by U K Insurance Limited, Registered office: The Wharf, Neville Street, Leeds LS1 4AZ. Registered in England and Wales no 1179980. U K Insurance Limited are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

Direct Line and UK Insurance limited are both part of Direct Line Insurance Group plc, which is wholly owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland Group.

Customers can find out more about Direct Line products or get a quote by calling 0845 246 3761 or visiting