Moving house? The one mistake that could put all of your possessions at risk - and half of us are guilty of it

If you've ever moved out, you'll already know the stress that comes with having to rearrange your life - from redirecting post to packing - but once you have those keys, it's all bliss.

Or so you might think. There's one huge mistake that 42% of movers are guilty of - and it could cost you your entire life's worth of possessions.

According to comparison website MoneySupermarket, almost half of Brits accidentally voided out their house insurance during their last move - with millions of households still unaware they actually made the costly mistake.

What have I done wrong?

Home insurance only applies to your possessions whilst they are at home. When you move out, your items - often furniture, electricals and so on - are placed in transit to your next property. At this point, they lose their automatic cover.

This effectively means that if something were to happen - say you picked a rogue driver - or your items were involved in an accident, your insurer would not legally have to pay out.

According to MoneySupermarket, 42% of Brits accidentally voided out their cover during their last big move by failing to notify their insurer beforehand - many of these households still aren't aware they actually broke the rules.

That's despite the average value of contents being shifted from one home to the next, standing at £14,000.

In some cases, insurers will cover you during your house move as a default - however there are exceptions that could catch you out here too.

In a poll, MoneySupermarket quizzed 2,000 people to gather data around their last house move.

It found just 39% hired a recognised removals company - while 28% decided to do it themselves.

However, while some insurers won’t cover you during the move, others that will, will demand that the transporter is a ‘registered company’.

This means if you try to go DIY, and something goes wrong, you might find your claim is rejected because you ‘failed to hire a recognised removals firm’.

Of course, there is one way to make sure you are covered.

While insurers don't cover items in transit as standard, they will cover it at your request - so notify them when you move out.

Secondly, use an authorised removals service - or at the every least, let your insurer know if you are transporting the goods yourself.

You may find you're asked to cough up extra for this service - however you might be able to lock in an offer if you carry your cover over to your next home.

Kevin Pratt, consumer affairs expert at MoneySupermarket, said: "Physically relocating your belongings from one property to the next is always a risky enterprise, but many home movers are undertaking the task without insurance.

"Some simply don’t have any sort of home insurance in place, while others wrongly assume their contents policy will take care of their goods while they’re in transit.

Dave Sayce from Comparemymove.com adds some top tips for customers that are planning a big move.

"A reputable removal company will have both Goods in Transit Insurance and Public Liability Insurance to ensure your move is fully covered.

“Public Liability Insurance typically covers the cost of injury to any members of the public (including yourself) or property during the move. Goods in Transit Insurance protects your items during transit from any damages, losses or theft during your move, and in most scenarios, can cover your belongings up to £50,000.

“It’s also worth checking the company has a website with full and fair Terms and Conditions."