Billions worth of household items uninsured

The recession has led to cutbacks in home insurance spending, according to price comparison website uSwitch.com, with £154.8 billion worth of household items being left uninsured.

New research by the company has found that one in five households do not have insurance and nearly half of those homeowners who do not have home insurance blame the tough economic climate.

Sixteen per cent of people have never thought of taking out home insurance and 18 per cent believe that the risks do not warrant the spending, according to the survey.

Renters are particularly at risk, given that 30 per cent do not have any home insurance, with 11 per cent thinking that they are covered under their landlord's insurance, which they are not.

Mark Monteiro, insurance expert for uSwitch.com, said: With recent crime figures revealing domestic burglaries to be on the up, as has proven the historic norm in a recessionary climate, consumers are running the gauntlet by putting themselves increasingly at risk simply to make a short-term saving.

Kwik Fit Insurance recently found that people were cutting home insurance in order to save money, with homeowners cutting insurance by up to one-third.