Throwing a children's birthday for your children may seem ideal in these summer months, yet a recent accident involving a bouncy castle lead to a million pound pay out means that people are learning to their detriment that cutting corners on your home insurance can prove to be very costly indeed.

Statistics have shown that almost four in ten children hurt themselves on outdoor leisure equipment, with more than 4000 children under the age of 15 suffering serious injury on a bouncy castle. These figures come from the Royal Society for the prevention of accidents.

So in these increasingly litigious times why would anyone be crazy enough to have a bouncy castle in their back garden? Well in truth most home insurers include bouncy castle, trampolines and swimming pools cover in their basic home cover under contents and building cover. Yet as we are currently in the grips of a credit crisis some customers may be cutting back on important aspects of their cover when they really shouldn't.

Although cutting back on certain aspects of your home insurance cover may save money in the short run, if you are not insured for the worst then you may have to pay for any medical or repair costs.

Jennifer Culley, spokeswoman for Direct Line, says: "Legal costs for liability claims can vary widely depending on the severity of the claim.

"Any case involving serious injury to a child is likely to be very expensive to resolve as there are many factors - including long-term care, adapted living accommodation, and medical expenses - which need to be taken into consideration.

"While every situation must be viewed on its own merits, it is reasonable to say that legal costs for the most severe cases can run into the millions."

Jennifer Culley has highlighted the importance of being properly covered against any unexpected incidents that may happen when holding a children's birthday party. It just makes sense to double check your cover before hiring out any entertainment equipment such as bouncy castles or trampolines.

Jim Bruce head of Home Insurance at Tesco backs up Jennifer Culley's point, "When hiring any items for informal social events or functions to be held at the home, we recommend that people always contact their home insurance provider beforehand to discuss the specifics of hire and to ensure that they understand what their policy covers them for in the unlikely event of an unfortunate incident."

The plain and simple truth is always double check with your home insurance provider before hiring out any form of entertainment equipment for an informal gathering. Putting on a large birthday party for your kids can be expensive enough without having to pay out for any medical or repair costs if the worst was to happen.

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