Customers have been advised to be wary of the claims process when deciding on a policy such as home insurance or travel insurance.
In order to make a successful insurance claim on policies, the claimant should be fully aware of any limitations or guidelines.
Many insurance companies will have stringent conditions for policy holders who wish to make a claim, according to Brian Brown, associate director of Defaqto.
"With some you have to report all claims within 24 hours and some companies stick to this to the second," said Mr Brown.
"Others may ask for a copy of the exact receipt," he added.
Although Mr Brown cites a wedding ring as an example, insurance policies range from boat insurance to travel insurance and consumers may be at risk of their claim being unsuccessful if they are not fully aware of their claims management process.
Recent figures show that consumers are now spending over £4 billion a year on garden furniture and cite this as an area where many items might not be covered by their home insurance policy.
Advice from insurance provider RIAS is that customers should be aware of exactly what items are covered, either when getting insurance quotes, or by amending their house insurance policy to cover new expensive purchases.




