The value of Britain’s home contents has risen 115 per cent in the space of 15 years, so householders should ensure they have adequate cover from their home contents insurance, warns Confused.com.

The survey asked people what the value of contents in their home was, and the results show that this has risen from less than £5,000 to more than £10,700, an increase which Confused.com has attributed to a shift in what homeowners deem are the most important items in their homes.

But the true value of the average home’s contents is actually £50,000, Confused.com has found, suggesting that households are underestimating the value of their belongings by around 80 per cent and, consequently, could have insufficient home insurance.

Another reason for the rise in value is the number of ‘must have gadgets’ that people own these days, Confused.com believes; 15 years ago, it suggests, the sum total of technology in people’s homes amounted to a soda stream, and perhaps a fax machine, whereas today’s homes are overflowing with mobile phones, MP3 players, expensive entertainment equipment, and computers.

Darren Black, head of home insurance at Confused.com urges homeowners to take stock of their belongings and ensure they have adequate contents insurance in place.

“What fills our home changes every year with continuous new must-have gadgets. As the British public buy more and more of these items, the content value of our home increases year on year,” he said.

“Underinsurance is still a massive problem with the research highlighting 79% of our contents are still overlooked.”

© Fair Investment Company Ltd