Almost a quarter of people (23%) have never reviewed their level of home contents cover according to research by rural insurer NFU Mutual.

With expensive gadgets like plasma TVs and gaming consoles now commonplace, some households are under insured and in the event of burglary or damage, and recipients will not be able to claim for full cover.

The research showed that there are a number of different reasons that people have for not checking that they have adequate cover. Over a fifth (22%) find it simpler to just keep the same level of cover year after year and a surprising 18 per cent of people did not know that they should regularly check their levels of cover.

Laura Wood at NFU Mutual comments: “Our research shows that some of the reasons given for not reviewing include ignorance, laziness and a belief that the process is time consuming. However, it does not need to be an arduous process.

“As well as annually, other good times to review your level of cover could be when you make a large purchase, move house, begin living with someone or after a milestone event like a wedding. All of these things can make a difference to your sum insured.”

There are some significant regional differences when it comes to home insurance. 30 per cent of Londoners have opted out of having home insurance completely whereas those in the South West are much more sensible, with 88 per cent of those surveyed saying they do have home contents insurance.

However, it is not all bad news as of those who have reviewed, nearly two thirds (63%) did so annually at the point of renewal and almost a fifth (19%) did so when they changed their provider.

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