Wooden floors and shower rooms might be beloved by experts on television property shows but they are turning into a nightmare for the UK's biggest insurer. As homeowners shun the shagpile in favour of slick sanded or laminate flooring and install more bathrooms, Norwich Union is counting the cost.

Andrew Moss, chief executive of the insurer's parent group, Aviva, said: “You get more and more people who have expensive wooden flooring rather than carpets. These things add to the cost of claims.’’

Mr Moss also said that the trend to install multiple bathrooms had also driven up the size of insurance claims and fuelled a rise in premiums as more bathrooms means a higher risk of water damage.

Britons are ripping up their carpets and replacing them with wooden flooring at a rate of almost a million households a year, according to figures from Junckers, Europe’s largest hardwood floor manufacturer.

Announcing interim results yesterday from Aviva, Mr Moss was forced to justify the company’s decision to raise premiums by an average 10 per cent. Although he said that the rises will be higher for those in areas susceptible to flooding, he stopped short of targeting the growing number of homes with wooden floors, or gold-plated bathtaps.

However, he conceded it could be more expensive to insure homes that did boast such finishing touches and said they should be included when disclosing the overall cost of household contents.

Times Recommends

• Minister in talks with Saudis to protect creditors
• Premier Inn hits back in £29-a-room row
• Bankers hit back at 'populist' bonus supertax