Comparison site GoCompare is urging customers to check their Car Insurance policies before packing Christmas gifts in the boot of their car, as they may not be fully covered in the case of accident or theft.

It’s inadvisable to store valuables in the car at the best of times, but the festive season provides rich pickings for opportunistic thieves. Not only is it a security risk for the car, but the cover for such items varies heavily from insurer to insurer, the website found.

While the most comprehensive policies will likely include cover for Personal Possessions cover, the more commonplace TPO policies (third-party, fire, theft) don’t usually offer the same level of protection.

Of the 305 standard comprehensive policies GoCompare analysed, 289 found that they included personal possession cover as standard, but even then, there were significant variations in the amount of cover offered.

Around a third of the policies offered cover to the value of between £150 and £249, while the same proportion again offered cover from £250 to £399.

Just under one in five (18%) only offered cover up to a value of £149.99, while only 14% offered cover of possessions valued at over £400. Given that the car may include expensive gifts such as phones, tablets, laptops, or games consoles, this could very easily leave the unwary consumer seriously out of pocket.

Ryan Fulthorpe, GoCompare’s insurance spokesperson, said: “We would never recommend keeping anything valuable in the car, but if you’ve been ordering presents online or shopping on the High Street, the car boot might seem like a great hiding place – away from prying eyes.

“But if anything should happen while gifts are stored in the trunk, you may find that your car insurance doesn’t cover the loss.”

However, it’s worth noting that if your car insurance policy doesn’t provide sufficient cover, it’s possible that your home contents insurance policy with personal possessions cover might do the job. These types of policies offer coverage against theft, loss, and accidental damage when taking belongings out of the home.

“More often than not, home insurance policies will provide some level of cover for personal possessions in the car, but as with car insurance, the limits of cover will vary,” said Ryan.

So if you’re buying expensive gifts such as laptops or mobile phones, you will need to check that you are covered for these items away from the home.

“Our research found that, out of 332 home contents products, 43% (145) provide cover for personal possessions in a car up to the contents or personal possessions sum insured on the contents policy. However, some insurance companies will only cover ‘everyday items’, so you might find that they will not cover gifts hidden in a car,” added Ryan.

Home contents policies generally offer the best protection when it comes to personal possessions, with 20% of policies covering £1,500 or more.

The danger is that Christmas presents aren’t always considered personal possessions, and the insurer may require proof that the gifts were hidden away from view in a locked boot.

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