Insurance 'My parents paid thousands to protect obsolete items'

How would you feel if you found out your elderly parents had paid the equivalent of £5,000 over the past 20 years to insure a Sky set-top box that became obsolete in 2016?

- Miles Brignall

Just ask Neil Allcock, who recently found out his father had paid Domestic & General £300 this year to cover electrical products that are either no longer offered, or are worth next to nothing.

Having been given power of attorney over his father's financial affairs, he has been bemused at some of the direct debits leaving his parents' bank account - not least the £25 a month to Sky Protect.

Their case is the latest example of why consumers should keep an eye on insurance policies that renew automatically each year, and ask relatives whether they are needed, or offer value for money.