Insurers are warning people who own expensive jewellery that they risk losing thousands of pounds if they are burgled, due to the pandemic pushing up the price of gold.

The price of gold topped £1,527 an ounce for the first time during the pandemic – meaning many homeowners may be unaware of the true value of their jewellery collections.

The warning comes after latest crime figures revealed jewellery was the second most targeted item in household burglaries in England and Wales in the last recorded year, stolen in almost one third of incidents.

Of the 248,633 residential burglaries recorded by police over the last year, 18,728 took place in the North West, with 7,377 of those in Lancashire.

Rupert Wailes-Fairbairn, from insurance broker Lycetts, said: “The price of gold has been steadily rising in recent years and its value spiked significantly during the coronavirus pandemic, with an all-time price high being reached in the summer.

“Prices of other precious metals, including silver, have also risen sharply since the start of this year.

“There are a lot of influencing factors when it comes to the price of gold, such as trade imbalances, global inflation, and real interest rates, but the bottom line is that prices fluctuate and can do so at a rapid rate.

“Homeowners may be blissfully unaware that the value of their jewellery has increased over recent months – but they could suffer significant financial loss, or even a rejected claim, if these items are stolen.

“In today’s volatile markets, it is more imperative than ever that homeowners ensure they regularly review the value of their jewellery, and inform their insurance provider of any changes.”

According to the latest detailed burglary stats, the average cost of stolen items in a burglary was £2,856, but only half of victims said the cost of the crime was more than £1,000.

Mr Wailes-Fairbairn added: “Some people make the mistake of renewing home cover each year without re-calculating the value of their possessions.

“The burden of calculating the value of home contents falls with the homeowner and giving an ‘educated guess’ to insurers is the downfall of many.

“The golden rule is that an item’s value for insurance purposes is how much it would cost to buy new, not what it cost when you bought it."

Making sure you get a legitimate valuation, being thorough with an inventory and having antiques, family heirlooms and jewellery valued regularly can help to ensure items are correctly insured.

Finally, some items may need separate specialist cover although online valuation tools may not always be accurate.