Certus Mortgage: Sainsbury's study costs of housing disaster recovery

The cost of replacing the contents of the average British home, in the event of a fire or other major disaster, is £44,500.

This is according to Sainsbury’s Home Insurance’s analysis of Loss Adjuster's data.

The findings reveal that out of all of the rooms in the home, the living room typically holds the most expensive items, equivalent to 27% of the overall value of the house’s contents. This is followed by the master bedroom, where the cost of replacing clothes and shoes and other furniture can amount to £5,900 (17% of total home contents); and the kitchen, where white good appliances and kitchenware comprise some £5,400 (16%).

Neil Laird, Sainsbury’s home insurance manager, said: “It’s staggering when you tot up all the contents in your home, just how much it would cost to replace them all should the unthinkable happen. It's therefore essential that you compare policies not only on price, but also on the level of cover they provide. It's important to make sure you not only have sufficient sum insured cover but also accidental damage cover. Not all policies provide cover for soft furnishings, including carpets, as standard for example.

"Quality contents cover doesn't have to be expensive and significant savings can be made if householders shop around, they can take advantage of deals such as ours where there are significant savings to be made.”

The most expensive single collective items that cost the most to replace are carpets and curtains, which are estimated to cost on average £7,500 to replace throughout a house. This is followed by householders’ clothes and shoes, which amount to around £3,700 to replace. Televisions, DVD recorders and game consoles cost a further £3,300 to replace.