What would you save from a fire? For many people, it’s their mobile phone

We Brits love a good anniversary – and a round number. This year we’re celebrating, among other things, the bicentenary of Charlotte Brontë’s birth and the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.

It’s also been 350 years since the Great Fire of London, the devastating blaze which burned for four days and in the process wiped out more than 13,500 homes and 87 churches in the capital. Its destruction was such that it is credited with creating the modern property insurance industry and, in turn, the fire service.

Thanks to the plethora of insurance plans on offer in the 21st century, we’re no longer reduced to burying cheese in the back garden in the event of a fire (although admittedly that worked a treat for Samuel Pepys). In fact, new research from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) shows that we’re far more likely to save credit cards, cash and photographs than anything else. Just 1 per cent would emulate the celebrated diarist by snatching up luxury food and drink.