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Home Contents InsuranceUnlike buildings insurance, which is often compulsory, home contents insurance is an optional cover. |
Home Contents Insurance
Unlike buildings insurance, which is often compulsory, home contents
insurance is an optional cover. Your possessions belong to you and therefore
it is your decision whether you want to insure them or not.
Most of us could not afford to replace our entire contents of our home
should the worst happen and we can advise you and help you to choose a
contents policy that is appropriate for your contents insurance needs. You
may be surprised at how cheap it is to cover your belongings.
If you are a homeowner then you may benefit from cheaper contents insurance
by combining it with a buildings insurance policy, however, if you rent your
home or live in a leasehold property then you may be able to save with a
contents only policy.
What does home contents insurance cover?
Contents insurance covers your household items against insured perils.
Cover is usually provided for moveable items such as furniture, electrical
items and personal belongings as well as some fixtures such as carpets.
Typically contents insurance policies will cover you for risks to the
contents as a result of a number of perils, such as:
- Fire
- Storm
- Flood
- Escape of water
- Subsidence
- Vandalism
- Theft
It is important to check your policy summary for what is excluded from cover
as well as what is covered.
The insurer may invalidate any claims where you have failed to disclose
material facts to them or have left the property unoccupied for more than 30
days.
Do not underestimate the value of your belongings. Personal items such as
jewellery, clothes, DVDs and electrical equipment will almost definitely add
up to more than you think. Don’t forget the general household items also.
To work out how much cover you need it is wise to make a list of all your
possessions by listing the rooms in your house and the items within them. Do
not forget to include items that are in the loft or stored outside in the
garden and in a locked shed. You can use this list to estimate the sum
insured of your items and the protection needed, as well as being handy in
the event of needing to make a claim.
Insurers will generally offer you cover for your items based one of the
following types of policies;
- Sum Insured – This policy is based on the amount it would cost you to replace all of your belongings. It is your responsibility to value this correctly and you should include all of your high value possessions as well as the rest of the goods within your home. If you’re not sure what is meant by high value possessions, please contact us.
- Bedroom rated – The insurance company will calculate your cover based on the amount of bedrooms and other rooms within your house. Whilst this may save time from listing all of your household items this type of cover may carry higher premiums and you still run the risk of being underinsured.
Additional contents covers available
Some policies will cover high value items and include accidental damage as
standard however many will consider them as extras. It is vital to check the
policy wording to see what is included and to ensure you are comparing like
for like when we provide you with a quotation.
Insurers will usually allow you to add extras to your policy at an
additional cost.
Extra cover that may be worth considering;
- Accidental Damage – This will protect any breakables within the home as well as covering for any DIY disasters.
- High Value Cover – Some insurers will include this as standard providing your high value items do not exceed a certain individual and overall value and are listed separately. Cover can usually be extended for items above this figure and the premium will be increased accordingly. This is worth considering for valuable items of jewellery, electronic equipment, art, antiques and any collections you may have.
- Personal possessions Cover – Insurance can often be extended to cover items that leave the home with you such as laptops, Sat Navs, mobile phones and jewellery.
There are many other types of additional cover you can take to insure you
for moving home, sports equipment, alternative accommodation or legal
assistance. Always check that your policy is suitable for your individual
circumstances.
How to make contents insurance cheaper
Whilst it is important to ensure that you are adequately covered for your
household items there are ways in which you can look to save money when
purchasing your contents insurance policy.
- Be clear about what level of cover you need and make sure that you advise us of the level of cover you require. This also applies to any renewal quotes.
- Paying your premium annually – many insurers will include an additional charge on your premium for paying monthly by direct debit. You can avoid this charge by paying your contents insurance in a one off payment each year.
- Leave off extras – if specific insurance features do not apply to you then you may be entitled to a reduction in your premium by excluding them from your cover.
- Raising your excess – Many contents insurance policies include an excess that you will need to pay in the event of a claim. But if you think that you would not claim for an item of lesser value, then raising the amount you are willing to pay as an excess usually results in a reduction in your premium.
- Combining with buildings insurance – Where you are required to purchase buildings and contents insurance it is often cheaper to combine them and buy your policy with the same insurer.
- No claims discount – Our insurers will usually reward you if you have a no claims discount with a cheaper policy premium.
- Security – it often pays to take precautions against a claim. High quality locks on doors and windows, burglar alarms, smoke alarms and joining a neighbourhood watch scheme may all reduce your contents insurance premiums
These types of plan will have no cash in value at any time, and will cease at the end of the term. You should be aware that if premiums are not maintained, then cover will lapse.
Contact us for more Information...
Tel: 0115 981 0718
Fax: 0115 982 6250 Email:
info@theinsurancehut.co.uk
We offer an effective service and all contact is treated in the strictest of confidence.
