Home Insurance Guide – 3/8

If you’re looking to take out home insurance you might want to consider the valuables within your home. Home contents insurance is optional but with the threat of burglaries and fire, searching for cheap contents insurance that covers your needs makes sense.

Contents Insurance

Contents insurance gives protection to anything that is not a fixed part of your home, for example your appliances, electronic goods, furniture and clothing. Most home contents insurance policies will even cover the contents of your fridge and freezer. Policies are advisable for homeowners and tenants while landlord contents insurance can be limited if the property is let unfurnished or part furnished.

The cheapest contents insurance available is indemnity insurance, which will replace, for example, a five-year-old carpet with one of the same age. A more expensive option is the ‘new for old’ policy that replaces the old carpet with a brand new one.

Your home contents insurance could also include cover for some items you take away from the home such as bicycles or prams and even the contents of your handbag. Clothing items, watches and mobile phones can also be covered along with sports equipment – though this is not usually covered when it is in use. The key is to check your policy and never assume that items are covered.

Garden plants are increasingly covered in contents insurance policies – treat your garden as another room and add up the costs of replacements. High value items, such as those more than £1,000 in value, will generally have to be considered separately from your contents policy.

Similarly to building insurance, contents insurance offers protection against various perils including:

• Fires
• Storms/flooding
• Explosions
• Theft and vandalism

Policies can also include cover in the event of an injury in your home. Furthermore, some contents insurance policies would also cover you for legal liability if someone were injured in your home due to your negligence or lack of upkeep of the property.

In part four we take a closer look at the different levels of cover available.