With the number of empty shops on UK high streets on the rise, Aviva is warning property owners to ensure they have the right insurance in place in the event of crime and malicious damage.
Recent research by the Local Data Company revealed that retail property vacancy rates across Britain rose by 2 per cent in the past six months of last year to 12 per cent, with some towns seeing as many as 24 per cent of their shops lying empty.
Allister Smith, property risk manager at Aviva, said: "With vacancy rates on the rise, it's imperative that landlords take all necessary steps to ensure that their buildings are adequately protected and insured correctly. The biggest two threats to an empty property are fire and malicious damage. Empty units must be adequately protected as every year, over three million properties are vandalised and 25 per cent of this malicious damage occurs in empty properties with arson costing £2bn."




