Scottish residents under-insure their home contents by more than £4.2bn, leaving millions struggling to replace their belongings in the event of disaster - and at risk of invalidating their policy - a survey commissioned by AXA has revealed today.

The average home's contents in the region are insured for over £33,000, yet people value their contents at almost £35,000, leaving the 2.31m Scottish homeowners and tenants struggling to replace their belongings should the worst happen.

At a time when people are cutting costs where they can, it may seem wise to many people to go for the cheapest premium. Not only could under-insuring mean you find yourself without enough funds to replace your belongings, it could even invalidate the policy.

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Nick Kidd, AXA's Head of Household said: "It may seem a good idea to many - particularly in today's climate - to pick the cheapest option when it comes to home insurance and save a few pounds, but £20,000 or even £30,000 worth of insurance is unlikely to cover all the contents in your home.

"It's very easy to under-value your possessions. When taking out home contents insurance, it’s absolutely vital you have a clear idea of what your possessions cost: under-insuring could lead to your policy being invalidated. We would advise people to keep receipts of all major possessions, take pictures of their most valuable items and factor in realistic replacement costs for things you may not have considered, such as personal effects."

The findings revealed that while Scottish residents insured their home contents for £33,000, they do not take everything into consideration when calculating that figure. When asked to place a value on a detailed list of home contents that included the costs to replace decoration, fixtures and fittings, garden equipment and plants, the figure rose to almost £35,000.

(GK/JM)