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Getting into the zone when gaming can be incredibly immersive, so much so that we can lose awareness of our physical surroundings. So, with 3.2 billion gamers worldwide¹, just which games put us the most at risk of causing accidental damage in the home?

To find out just this, Compare The Market polled 1,000 American and Australian respondents on the games which have caused the most accidental damage to their homes and belongings, the type of damage, and the average costs to repair those damages.²

So, which are the games to be extra cautious of when playing at home? According to the study, the top 10 were revealed as:

1.          Call of Duty- 33.90%

2.         Fortnite- 29.80%

3.         Indoor ball games – 25.60%

4.         Minecraft- 25.30%

5.         Outdoor ball games – 24.50%

6.         Hide and Seek- 23.60%

7.          Grand Theft Auto (any edition) / Super Mario Kart  – 22.70%

8.         Pillow fight- 22.10%

9.         Virtual reality games- 21.00%

10.        Monopoly / games played on Nintendo Wii – 20.4%

Call of Duty takes the top spot as the most destructive game with a third of respondents (33.90%) reporting accidental damage to their home and contents while playing. As a first-person video game, this is of little surprise as it can be too easy to lose awareness of physical surroundings, accidentally knocking over a glass of water or losing grip on your controller.

Video games made up much of the top ten with respondents reporting causing accidental damage in the home due to Fortnite (29.80%) Minecraft (25.30%), Grand Theft Auto (22.70%) and Super Mario Kart (22.70%). Furthermore, one in five (21.00%) reported causing accidental damage due to Virtual Reality games emphasizing the importance of selecting an appropriate space in the home before putting on a VR headset.

However, physical games can also be just as damaging to the home. Indoor ball games ranked second overall (25.60%), with outdoor ball games (24.50%) ranking fifth. Despite requiring no airborne objects, hide and seek (23.60%) also ranked in the top ten highlighting the need to think before making any sudden actions while playing games in the home.

In terms of damage, the average person spends around $477.34 repairing their homes after accidental damage due to games, with almost a third (32.1%) spending upwards of $200 to repair damages. The most common damages were revealed as damage to laptops, mobile phones and laptops (31.9%), unintentional holes in walls, ceilings, and floorboards (31.10%) and broken vases, mirrors, and ornaments (26.90%).

In the US Oregon is the US state that forks out the most, with the average cost of their damages totaling a huge USD$1,114.30 – almost triple the spend of the average American. For Australians, Western Australia is the region which spends the most on home and contents repairs due to gaming, at AUD$1,043.44.

Commenting on the research Adrian Taylor, Compare the Market’s General Manager of General Insurance said “When playing games in the home it can be incredibly easy to become too immersed and lose awareness of your actual physical surroundings. Our research has emphasized that no matter whether the game is physical or virtual, gamers should always pay attention and take precautions before playing games – from moving any ornaments out of harm’s way or adding protective straps to your gaming controllers.”

“However, accidents do unfortunately happen, so it is always advised to have home and contents insurance in place should the worst occur. From damaged tablets to structural damage, insuring your home and contents can prevent any big and unexpected pay outs.”

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