UK consumers waste £937million a year by renewing their home insurance with the existing provider instead of shopping around for the best deal, moneysupermarket.com has discovered.

Each UK household could save £132 a year if they compare home insurance quotes instead of just auto-renewing with their existing insurer, research from the comparison website suggests.

The findings highlight the false economy of consumers staying loyal to their existing providers, because there are potential savings to be made by going elsewhere instead of choosing to automatically renew their policy.

According to the survey, 29 per cent of households automatically renew their existing home insurance policy instead of opting to compare home insurance deals to see if they could save money with a different provider.

Of those who stick with their provider, 15 per cent said they do so because they do not believe they could find a better deal, while 14 per cent said they simply cannot be bothered to shop around for home insurance.

The average UK homeowner will stay with their home insurance provider for three years, although the over 55s are even more loyal, choosing to switch on average every 3.6 years.

A further 48 per cent of homeowners have been with the same home insurance provider for more than two years, while a tenth have been sacrificing potential savings for at least 10 years.

Commenting on the results of the research, Julie Owens, head of home insurance at moneysupermarket.com, said: “Having the choice to automatically renew your home insurance is appealing – but ask yourself, is it worth paying such a hefty price for the convenience? Shopping around for the best deal is quick and easy; by not doing so Brits are effectively watching their hard earned cash go down the drain.”

Ms Ownens urges every household to have a combined contents and buildings insurance in place, to cover their homes against unexpected eventualities such as burst pipes, theft, or loss of possessions away from the home.

“Without having cover in place you could end up having to foot a very expensive bill,” she said.

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