Brits spend more than £1,500 on insurance premiums each year, but are not always clear as to how much cover they actually have, a new survey by Fool.co.uk has revealed.

The research found that 39 per cent of people questioned had no idea how much insurance cover they have. According to the results, one in 25 of those asked have more than a dozen different types of insurance policies, leaving them confused as to how much cover they actually have.

When it comes to forking out for insurance, a cautious six per cent say they try to insure everything they can, whereas ten per cent think insurance is a waste of money.

According to the research, 23 per cent of participants shun insurance companies and try to self-insure as much as possible by putting money aside in case anything unfortunate happens.

For those who do take out insurance policies, the average cost is £1,550 a year which protects them for £280,000 of unforeseen events. The study revealed that home insurance is the most popular and is taken out by 89 per cent of participants.

The only mandatory policies, which are car insurance and buildings insurance, came in second place with 85 per cent take up, suggesting that Brits do not have their insurance priorities in order.

Fool.co.uk also found that pet insurance was more popular than mobile phone insurance amongst participants. And, it seems that expensive items such as laptops are being overlooked as only four per cent of people said they had insurance to cover such equipment.

Head of personal finance at Fool.co.uk, David Kuo, said: “The key to buying insurance is only to insure against risk that you cannot afford to bear. So if you buy insurance you don’t need then you are wasting money. But if you don’t buy insurance that you do need, they eventually your decision will come back to haunt you.

“Not knowing how much insurance you have is just as bad. It’s tantamount to playing a card game where everyone can see your cards except you.” He concluded.

©Fair Investment Company Ltd