According to a recent survey conducted by one of the UK’s leading insurers, Swinton, 1 in 5 households are failing to take out contents insurance.

Insurers warn that these individuals could face a hefty bill to replace items within their home should they fall victim to a burglary, or if their home was damaged as a result of fire or flooding.

The poll questioned 2,573 online Swinton customers and found that 18% of those involved in the survey didn’t have home contents insurance. When asked why they hadn’t taken out cover on their home contents, a variety of reasons were uncovered, the most common being, it’s too expensive. 32% said they simply hadn’t got round to it, while 16% argued that it isn’t a legal requirement, with 7% saying they thought it was too complicated.

With the average household owning £28,000 worth of contents, insurers say not covering your possessions is a risk you really can’t afford to take.

Everything in your home should be taken into consideration when estimating the worth of household contents, from the vacuum cleaner, to musical instruments, clothes, shoes, and your TV. Insurance companies recommend that you estimate the worth of your contents as accurately as possible as if you over value your possessions, you could face unnecessarily high insurance premiums.