Homeowners and landlords with insurance are being warned they could be losing money by not shopping around for the best deal.

Britons are collectively wasting £1.7billion by not getting the best value deal on home insurance, according to comparison website Confused.com.

It has calculated people can make an average saving of £96.43 per annum by switching to a new provider – but 13% of households have never done so.

Meanwhile, 70% have been with the same provider for more than a year.

The research also revealed a whole host of excuses for not making the effort to shop around and get a new deal, the most common reason being that people felt they had such a good deal at the moment there was no point. Findings included:

* 20% just can’t be bothered to switch;

* 11% think it’s too complicated;

* 4% didn’t know you could;

* 39% think their deal is so good that there is no point in switching;

* 19% don’t think the savings to be made are worth the effort;

* 9% don’t know how to do it;

Mark Gabriel, head of home insurance at Confused.com, said: “As a nation we’ve become really good at shopping around annually for motor insurance, but most of us still aren’t making the effort when it comes to insurance for our homes and their contents. The overall price may be lower than for car insurance, but there are still valid savings to be made.”

Meanwhile, landlords should make sure they do not miss out on savings too.

One option to help achieve this is by looking into getting the best possible deal on cheap landlords insurance.

Discount Landlord Insurance provides a comprehensive range of policies to cover all your needs as a landlord, at the most competitive landlord insurance rates available.