BBC Morning Live insurance expert warns you could be paying 'twice' and not know it

Sam White stressed that you may not need an insurance policy for everything and said there are 'lots of circumstances where you end up paying twice'

A money expert has warned people they need to think twice before they buy, as they could be throwing money down the drain on something they don't need. According to Sam White, an insurance expert, we might be paying too much money or doubling up unnecessarily when it comes to insurance.

Warning consumers on BBC Morning Live today (September 20) he says that people could be paying twice when they really don't need to explaining: “There are lots of circumstances where you end up paying twice for the insurance policy. Unfortunately insurance is often coupled with other things, with other products and you may not realise that you’ve already got the insurance in place but you’re buying it again.”

Listing common items people take out insurance for, she says that parcels is a top one as the senders are worried that they spent a lot of money on it and they want to make sure it gets insured and delivered safely. But they’re covered anyway she reveals explaining that you are already covered "under the consumer rights act and if you buy it on your credit card, then you’ll be covered through your credit card

So you don’t necessarily need it, but it’s one of those things that they might just tick a box at the end and you end up with an additional insurance policy that you don’t need.”

She further explained "extended warranties are similar you’re actually covered if there’s something wrong with the item for up to six years, again Consumer Rights Act, but they can throw in an extra warranty when you buy your fridge or your freezer, etc, and it makes you feel like you’ve got a peace of mind but potentially you don’t need it."

Joking about being clumsy when it comes to her phone, she says that insurance on your handheld device and gadgets may not be needed as "it might be covered on your home insurance policy" - banks can also sometimes cover these, she says.

"Health insurance is another one" she says explaining: "I personally have a critical illness covered because I’ve got a lot of dependents and I worry about that but it’s very expensive. You could have health insurance options through your business so your employer might be able to offer you a cheaper health insurance policy and that can be really expensive - it can be £100 a month so it’s worth going through all of your policies and d thinking, do I need this?."

Whilst you may not always need insurance, there is some you can't avoid, she stresses. For example: "Obviously there’s some you legally need like if you've got a car, you do need car insurance” but she then stresses that "other types of insurance you need to think 'is this the thing that I need, can I afford to do without it?'."