Expert urges people to switch provider rather than cancelling home insurance

A consumer finance expert has urged homeowners to shop around for a better deal rather than ditching their home insurance .

As people look to save money through the tough economic environment, some have chosen to cancel their insurance policies .

However, Neil Munroe, external affairs director for Equifax, believes that the sensible option would be to switch providers, as householders may not realise the importance of having a policy until they need to make a claim .

He added: People must make sure when they are switching that if they go cheaper, they don't lose a benefit they might not have used, but in future cases may be quite critical.

Furthermore, he said that having payment protection insurance would be beneficial to protect people in case of redundancies .

A recent survey by the Nottingham Building Society found that one in four British households has no building or contents cover .

It also showed that 22 per cent of people had cancelled or not renewed their contents cover last year, while 17 per cent had made a similar decision regarding their buildings cover .