Consumers warned over lack of home insurance

Many people fail to take out home insurance because they never expect to make a claim - something that can prove disastrous, one expert has warned.

Alison Palmer, household underwriting consultant for Norwich Union , explained that many people take the view that they either have nothing worth insuring or take the view that well, it'll never happen to me. I'll be alright and so do not take out contents insurance .

However, she warned: As [we've] seen from the events that happened last summer it can happen easily. People lose everything and it’s a horrible thing.

Ms Palmer added that around 25 per cent of the population do not have contents insurance , a figure she described as an awful amount.

This figure is probably even higher in urban areas, she concluded.

According to the Association of British Insurers the UK insurance industry paid out a total of £9 million in home insurance claims in 2006.