Home insurance is something most people prioritise for their primary residence, but what about for second properties that do not contain the owner's valuable possessions?

This type of cover means that in the event of a burglary, fire, floor or some other unforeseen event the content of the house is covered.

However, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI), which has around 400 companies in membership, one in ten owners of foreign properties do not have any insurance for their holiday abodes.

Furthermore, research by Zurich Private Clients has found that one in ten of those who own homes abroad stay in them just once a year.

With the property vacant so often home owners are risking it becoming a prime target for thieves who have become alert to the fact the house is unoccupied for sustained periods of time.

Zurich says that another 52 per cent of holiday home owners leave their properties empty for a month or more at a time.

This figure is even more worrying when taking into account the fact that the typical British holiday owner has around £15,200 of contents in their second homes.

Essentially, this would mean should they be burgled or suffer at the hands of an act of God they could be left £15,000 out of pocket.

Of those who do have insurance, 11 per cent said they did not know if the cover they had was adequate, leaving them liable to huge losses.

However, the ABI has called these figures "unsurprising" as 25 per cent of people don't have insurance for their first home.

Malcolm Tarling, a spokesperson for the ABI, said: "There are specialist insurers around that will insure second homes. Obviously there is the issue of the value of your homes and security."

He added that those who own properties in guarded complexes will find insurance cheaper than those who own homes in a remote areas and do not pay that house a visit for long periods of time.

Despite this, the ABI spokesman reassured second home owners that there are definitely insurance policies available and although the price may reflect the risk, it is often cheaper in the long run than confronting a disaster or burglary with no back up plan .

In order to keep policies down holiday home owners were advised not to leave anything in the property that they did not need.

Firstly because expensive items, such as TVs or computers, will attract burglars, but also because the more valuable the contents of the property the dearer it will be to insure.

Also, to have costly items being rarely used and all the time depreciating in value may not be the best of ideas.

"The specialists will have expert knowledge and they will use their local contacts through the pool of knowledge they will have built up over the years; so as with all of these things, if in doubt go to a specialist," said Mr Tarling.