Around 25 per cent of people in the UK currently don't have any home contents insurance, it has been claimed.

Kelly Ostler, spokesperson for the Association of British Insurers (ABI), says that take up of actual brick and mortar insurance is much higher - as mortgage providers usually detail it as a requirement when taking out a product.

"It is content that tends to be neglected - especially for people on lower incomes," she explained.

And premiums for household contents insurance are usually calculated on how many recorded burglaries there have been in your locality, she said.

"If every house on your street has been burgled six times then your premium will be reflected accordingly. It depends on what type of crime goes on in your area as well. Some crime might be car crime so it would affect your motoring premium instead of your household insurance."

There were 300,555 recorded offences of burglary in a dwelling in England and Wales in 2005/06, statistics from the British Crime Survey show.

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