Just under one in five people in Dorset have no home insurance despite the average property having £23,726 of contents

A new study from home insurer Together Mutual Insurance reveals the vulnerability of Britain’s homes as one in five Dorset homeowners admit they have no contents or buildings insurance.

These findings come as a report by a coalition of the world’s biggest insurers reveals that extreme UK weather events are driving up uninsured losses.

Crime rates don’t look much better either, as the Office for National Statistics reports that police-recorded crime across England and Wales has risen by 10 per cent – the largest annual rise for a decade with up to 10,500 burglaries reported.

The most expensive items in UK homes are deemed to be kitchen appliances which amount to an average of £2,218 per home followed by jewellery at £1,760.

Despite the high value of the belongings in UK homes, 19 per cent of those who don’t have home insurance are people that have never even considered getting contents insurance while nearly one in ten believe their area is safe enough not to need any protection.

Jon Craven, CEO of Together Mutual Insurance said: “There seems to be a confusion around the different types of home insurance and as a result, thousands of pounds worth of goods are sitting in British homes unprotected. The main area of misunderstanding seems to be around buildings insurance as 46 per cent of people in Dorset mistakenly believing it covers their contents as well.

"We would strongly advise that any homeowner or tenant checks with their preferred insurance provider to discuss what the available options are to protect their home.”