The unfortunate case of Roderick Stewart may act as a salutary lesson to householders who could be hit by a similar insurance pitfall.

Mr Stewart has been left out of pocket following massive smoke damage to his home after a chip pan fire because, despite his insurance being up to date, he has fallen victim to a clause in the small print.

By not declaring that his son, who lives in the same house, had a criminal conviction, he did not fulfil the terms of his insurance policy and, as a result, he has been told his policy, and therefore any claim he makes, is invalid.

And that has left Mr Stewart facing a £35,000 bill, with no prospect of an insurance pay-out, and currently living in the offices of his taxi company. Coming on top of the trauma of the fire itself, the situation must have left him reeling.

It is impossible not to feel a huge degree of sympathy for him, as he did not try and conceal his son’s past record, he simply had no idea it should have been disclosed.

There will be many who now decide to check their own policies on the back of this, as this is an surprise no one wants to suffer.

It does seem unfair that, in this case, a householder has been left heavily out of pocket, despite paying for insurance cover, because of a clause he had never imagined would affect his insurance.

And it would be nice if the insurance company, Royal Sun Alliance, looked at the situation again to see if they can find a way to waive the small print on this occasion.

In the meantime, anyone with concerns about hidden surprises that could affect pay-outs would be well advised to check their documentation with a fine tooth comb.