Research from Confused.com has revealed that almost a third of us thinks that the re-build costs for our property are equal to or greater than the market value and this could be a costly mistake in terms of what we pay for buildings insurance.

With the nation in the grips of a recession we are all looking for ways to tighten our belt and, whilst it is normally a bad idea to look to our insurance policies as a means of doing this, this really is an area where around 30% of us could save money.

Confused.com has discovered that 10% of home owners think that re-build costs are the same as the market value and 20% think that re-build costs are even greater than the market value. Darren Black, Confused.com’s head of home insurance, acknowledges that re-build costs are difficult to calculate and he is not surprised that people are confused.

To help their customers ensure that they are not paying over the odds, the price comparison website has come up with an easy-to-use re-build calculator which will work out the re-build costs on the basis of information provided by the consumer. The calculator has been devised in association with BCIS (Building Cost Information Service) and the RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors). Andrew Thompson of BCIS said that they are keen that consumers should get the “right cover at the right price” and that anyone who has over-calculated their re-build costs or who has failed to provide up-to-date information to their insurance company over the last few years could easily save money using the calculator.

In these financially difficult times, it seems that some people may contemplate taking extreme measures to secure extra cash. A startling survey conducted in January 2009 by RSA, the UK’S largest commercial insurer, has revealed that 4.7 million Britons don’t see anything wrong in making a false insurance claim.

When compared to earlier research undertaken for the same company 9 months ago, the results show an increase of 1 million people feeling this way, which leads to speculation that this more relaxed attitude to fraud could be due to the credit crunch. During hard times it may become a little easier to add a few extra items to the insurance claim form, or to try to upgrade by claiming higher value items than those lost.

John Beadle, Counter-Fraud Manager at RSA, is concerned that insurance fraud is not generally seen as a serious offence, and that some of those involved in it see it as a "victimless way to make money".

On the other hand many people are losing out with insurance claims because they are not disclosing vital information when taking out policies. One particularly fraught area, an article in the Observer claims, is that of unspent convictions, and failure to disclose these, for any member of the household, can void the insurance policy.

Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, a sentence of more than two and a half years will always remain unspent, and therefore will need to be disclosed. Lesser sentences will have different lengths of time before the conviction becomes spent, with even minor fines taking five years.

Legally it is the responsibility of the policy holder to make sure all relevant details are declared when they take out insurance, but obviously they need to be aware of the information themselves. It is understandable that many people with convictions want to be discreet about it, and this can be particularly tricky for landlords, who must disclose the unspent convictions of any tenants living in their property.

Often it is only when loss adjustors become involved that these matters come to light, and it can come as a real shock to the policyholder when their claim is refused.