Homeowners who own property abroad but hardly visit need to extend their home insurance policy to cover the property, the AA has said.

This comment follows the revelation by a recent study that while the average holiday home contains valuables worth more than £15,000, two-thirds of owners only visit once in every three months.

And one-in-ten owners do not have insurance cover for their holiday homes.

The need to protect the contents, therefore, makes extending the insurance cover a necessity, said the AA.

“It’s a good idea to have an extension on your UK home contents policy which gives cover for your personal property anywhere in the world,” advised public relations manager for the AA, Ian Crowder.

He added that homeowners who extend their insurance policy to cover their property abroad would have a peace of mind.

Mr Crowder explained that people who lose any of their valuables to buglers or if it is accidentally damaged could make a claim on their UK home insurance.