A tremor of fear ran through some homeowners when the biggest earthquake to hit the UK for nearly 25 years shook houses across huge swathes of England and Wales this morning.

The panic caused by the quake, which measured 5.3 on the Richter scale, is no doubt also being felt by insurance companies preparing to deal with the expected deluge of claims for damage to properties.

The incident has highlighted the need for adequate home insurance provision.

Tony Beckwith, director of Abbey Insurance, said: "Like the floods of 2007, it is hard to prepare your home for unexpected incidents like this morning’s earthquake.

"These incidents can dramatically affect the structural safety of a home, but with a good insurance policy that offers comprehensive protection for your property, your ability to recover from the unexpected will be a lot easier."

Surprisingly, there are almost 200 earthquakes each year in the UK, although most do not cause any damage and go largely unreported.

With one-in-four homes uninsured and some policies not covering earthquake damage, the potential cost of these ‘acts of god’ could be huge.

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