The final credits may have already rolled for legendary Aussie soap Neighbours but research has shown fictional Ramsay Street was the safest place for characters to live compared to other TV show locations. New analysis reveals the fewest residential insurance claims would have been made in Melbourne suburb during the past three decades - much less than some of the soap's UK counterparts.
The study by insurance specialist Urban Jungle found characters in Neighbours would have claimed just £376,104 in residential insurance, compared to the huge £1.7million insurers would have paid out to the residents of Walford featured on EastEnders. Two storms and multiple explosions at Lassiters have rocked Ramsay Street since the show first aired, while EastEnders has seen more than its fair share of home disasters, including four house fires.
Interestingly, Emmerdale has suffered more large-scale disasters than any other soap, including the famous Beckindale airplane crash where a large number of residents' homes were damaged. However, house rebuild costs based on its Yorkshire location are considerably lower compared to the Albert Square setting for EastEnders - so the total cost of claims would be significantly lower.
Top home insurance claims on TV soaps from the past 30 years:
- Neighbours: Total insurance claim of £376,104 including residential damage caused by two storms
- Coronation Street: Total insurance claim of £384,000 including a house fire and sinkhole
- Home and Away: Total insurance claim of £863,156 including a house fire and three storms
- Hollyoaks: Total insurance claim of £983,000 including a flat fire, fire at student flats and a gas explosion
- Emmerdale: Total insurance claim of £1,545,000 including six house fires and three barn explosions
- EastEnders: Total insurance claim of £1,700,000 including four house fires
The rebuild cost is estimated based on location and size of property affected.
Laura-Jayne Tyler, soap opera expert, said: “There have been scores of unimaginable disasters to rock our favourite soap characters and their properties over the years – bringing maximum drama to the globe’s best-loved television programmes. As we bid a tearful farewell to Neighbours, it’s comforting to learn that Ramsay Street was a relatively safe place to be.”
Jimmy Williams, chief executive of Urban Jungle, added: “It seems like life is pretty risky in soapland - especially in Albert Square. We hadn’t realised that everyone’s daily soap was such a good advert for why you need home insurance, though what you see on the soaps actually pretty well mirrors real life.
"Whether it was the big storms in February or the fires from the recent heatwave, we’ve been helping our customers with plenty of real-life drama. By having your home insurance sorted, hopefully everything can be that little bit less dramatic.”
