Tenants are gambling £8 billion in personal possessions by failing to take out home contents insurance. Many do not even realise that they have to take out insurance to cover their possessions.

According to a recent survey carried out by Zurich Insurance UK, almost one million private tenants admit they have no insurance, leaving themselves open to theft and damage. This is despite the fact that a third of those surveyed said they estimate their personal possessions to be worth more than £1,000. Nearly a quarter of those questioned said it would take over two years to replace the stolen items and some thought they would never be able to replace them.

Instead of paying for insurance many tenants use the money for holidays, clothes, socialising or debt repayments instead. Some believe their landlord’s insurance will cover their possessions.

"With more and more people now renting property this is exceptionally worrying," comments Philip Suter of jml Insurance.com. "Tenants are really leaving themselves exposed like this. Companies like HomeLet and Endsleigh offer very good insurance packages for tenants and premiums can be even being paid monthly.