Home insurance warning from the Nottingham

Nottingham Building Society has stressed the importance of having adequate home insurance after recent government statistics showed that one in four households have no building of contents cover at all.

The family expenditure and food survey figures suggest that people have been sacrificing their insurance policy as they feel the economic pinch.

According to the Association of British Insurers, 22 per cent of Britons cancelled their home contents insurance last year, while 17 per cent called time on their building cover .

Lorraine Giddings, head of the branch network for The Nottingham, is concerned that people without adequate cover for their home may end up facing a huge bill if any damage does come about.

We understand many people who cancel their home insurance do it because they don't think they can afford the payments, she said. However, they may not realise that they may be able to save a lot of money by switching their provider.

She added that many households are also underinsured, for example if renovations have been made and the policy is not adjusted properly, and that this could also lead to problems for the policyholder.

One such issue is water escaping around the house, according to insurance company Fortis, which could happen as a result off ice forming and thawing inside of pipes, causing them to burst.