New homeowners are failing to shop around to make sure they get the best deal when it comes to their home buildings insurance.

This is the finding of new research from Sainsbury's Home Insurance, which showed young people buying a property for the first time are around three times more likely to simply take the cover offered by their mortgage provider rather than researching the options open to them.

According to the investigation, 40 per cent of home loan holders under the age of 34 took this route - markedly more than the 14 per cent of all mortgage holders who did the same.

It was demonstrated that while 15 per cent of those in this age bracket signing up to a mortgage thought they were required to take the cover in order to secure their loan, just ten per cent of the remainder believed this to be the case.

Ben Tyte, head of Sainsbury's Home Insurance, said: "Whatever your reason for taking buildings insurance from your mortgage provider ... now's the time to shop around to see if you can get a better deal."