Failure to check out the market for a better deal just ends up boosting the coffers of the insurance company. However, more importantly, if your contents are under-insured, you could find yourself severely out of pocket should you need to make a claim.

Michelle Slade, analyst at Moneyfacts.co.uk, said: “Many people never think to review their home insurance cover and in some cases this could mean they are grossly under-insured. Each year, while many of us splash out on the latest expensive electrical gadgets, we never think to recalculate our level of home insurance cover in line with the new contents we buy.

“It may be worth creating a list of your contents and reviewing it once a year. Making a list may seem a bit sad and too much bother, but it’s better than finding out the hard way. Imagine if your belongings were destroyed by flooding or a fire, the situation would be stressful enough, without the added worry that you wouldn’t receive sufficient money to replace them due to being under-insured.”