Half of Brits may be spending too much unnecessarily

Almost half (49 per cent) of UK residents may be spending too much unnecessarily on common financial products because they did not take action to switch to potentially cheaper deals in 2015.

This is according to new research from Gocompare.com, which reveals that 24 million people in Britain stayed with their utilities or broadband and phone providers last year, meaning they could have missed out on significant savings.

Figures from the comparison site show that just 19 per cent of Brits changed their car insurance provider in 2015, while only 17 per cent took advantage of a better energy deal and a mere 16 per cent shopped around for a cheaper home insurance policy.

In addition, just six per cent of respondents to Gocompare's survey said they had changed their ISA or savings account over the last 12 months, with the same percentage actively switching their credit card or bank account.

At the bottom of the pile was mortgage policies, with just two per cent of people living in the UK swapping to a more cost-effective deal in 2015.

The poll also found that people tend to stay with the same energy supplier for an average of 3.2 years and don't change their car insurer more than every 2.4 years, indicating that they could be needlessly paying too much for everyday necessities and getting into avoidable debt due to a lax approach to shopping around for the best possible deal.

Gocompare.com's Ben Wilson commented: "The market for insurance, banking products and energy is highly competitive and there are some attractive deals to be had.

"However, these offers are frequently used to attract new customers rather than reward loyal ones. So it's important to regularly review your finances to make sure that you're not paying over the odds as an existing customer."

He added that regularly switching providers for a range of essential services can help households to save significant sums and avoid unnecessary debt.