Do you know how much your home contents are worth

At a time when house prices in the UK are rising at their fastest rate for four years, Brits are displaying a surprising lack of understanding of the actual value of the contents they have in their home, according to Legal & General.

A survey of more than 5,000 people revealed the average estimated value of the contents of a living room, kitchen, master bedroom, another main bedroom and the garden, to be just over £14,300.

L&G has estimated the average value of the home contents for a three bedroom family home to be over £38,000, so Brits could be substantially under-valuing their possessions, by possibly over 150%. The £38,000 value is based on items in the: living room - £10,550; bathroom - £1,220; master bedroom - £9,900; kitchen - £6,515; small bedroom - £2,300 and second bedroom - £4,650.

The insurer's research has worryingly revealed that, outside London, the two regions with the highest recorded levels of burglary, Yorkshire and the North West, were also the regions where people were most likely to undervalue their home contents.

Out of ten regions in England and Wales covered by the research, Yorkshire and the North West ranked seventh and eighth when it came to putting a realistic value on their home contents.

Andy Dawson, Operations Director at L&G's general insurance business, makes the point that Brits seem to be seriously under-estimating the value of their home contents. Indeed, from the survey findings it would appear that insurance to cover loss of property from the home, for example as a result of a burglary, could be over £20,000 below the level it should be.

"Obviously every home is different and our figures should only be taken as a guide, but this significant gap in insurance cover could mean people are extremely disappointed if they ever do need to claim," adds Dawson.

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