Brignall Archer

Home contents insurance covers your possessions. Its purpose is to insure those items inside your home in the event of damage caused by, for example, a fire, flood or burglary etc.

Standard contents insurance generally includes cover for your furniture; soft furnishings, like curtains and carpets; personal items, like books/CDs/DVDs; your electronics equipment, computers, televisions; clothing, jewellery and other items up to a set limit. Unlike buildings insurance, home contents insurance isn’t mandatory, purchasing it is up to the individual.

What to expect

Once the excess is met, a good home contents insurance policy will provide for all of your household possessions in the event of damage, loss or theft. Events covered include natural occurrences, such as flood or fire, as well as acts of intrusion like burglary or vandalism. In addition, a home contents insurance policy should cover non-natural events, for example major water/gas leaks or explosions.

Things to look for

Cover for accidental damage varies by insurer, so it is important to check the specifics of your policy. For valuables that are frequently taken out of the home, mobile phones, jewellery, cameras and even some sports equipment, an ‘all risks extension’ can be added to your policy at an extra cost.

Other insurance you might want to consider is accidental injury or third party property damage, which covers guests or visitors to your home. Flexible cover increases at those times of the year when you usually have more items in your home, like Christmas and some policies can be extended to cover your children’s possessions when they live away from home, for example when they go to university.

In the current economic climate, when households are looking for ways to reduce their expenditures, home insurance premiums have been some of the first areas to be cut. However, with house insurance providing a vital part of financial protection, cutting policies altogether is not the best option. There are a number of steps that can be taken to help reduce premiums and before you cut any cover, it is first best to attempt to reduce your monthly premium if possible.

The first major step to reducing monthly premiums is to compare home insurance across a range of companies. Doing so can highlight particular areas where money can be saved, and with such a competitive market, significant savings can often be made. Using comparison websites allows easy identification of the best deals, whilst also providing important insight into a company’s services.

Meanwhile a large number of insurance firms will reduce monthly premiums if certain steps are taken around the house to reduce the possibility of a claim. Both building insurance and contents insurance can be affected by the security of a property, so it is important to ensure that preventative steps are taken. Burglar alarms can be installed in addition to motion detecting lights, whilst locks can be applied to windows and doors. The use of fire alarms will bring down the risk of large fire damage, whilst insulating piping can prevent pipes bursting in colder months.

Such steps can significantly affect monthly household insurance costs, as households which have taken such measures are seen as less likely to make a claim. So before you cancel that insurance policy completely, take steps to reduce your premiums while remaining financially protected.

Homeowners purchase household insurance policies to protect their possessions from events they can’t anticipate.  No one expects to sustain flood damage or fire, but responsible homeowners know that buildings and contents insurance will be a worthy investment in the event of such a disaster.

Unfortunately, that home insurance policy won’t do much good if it provides insufficient coverage to the cost of your home and goods, has lapsed, or doesn’t account for situational circumstances and inflation.  What’s the point of paying for a policy that won’t assist you when you need it the most? Sadly, this is the biggest mistake homeowners make with house insurance.

It is essential that you keep your coverage up to date and of adequate value.  Some providers will automatically adjust your sum insured for inflation, or even during the gift-giving Christmas holidays.  Never assume that your home insurance policy automatically does anything; always check and re-check to be sure.

When you acquire new goods, such as a flat screen television or an expensive piece of jewellery, you should always report this additional item to your contents insurance provider.  The same goes for money spent improving your home’s structure.  A new heating system or improvements to the interior of a home can increase the cost to rebuild your home, and it is then necessary to adjust the sum insured on your buildings insurance. While these changes may raise your insurance premiums, failing to accurately report changes to your coverage amount could have disastrous consequences if damage occurs.

Shopping online has become so popular over the past decade that it is nearly a national pastime. Consumers can buy literally anything online from sports cars to houses to posh vacations, so why not house insurance? You can buy almost any type of insurance online whether it is for building, contents or anything else. The convenience of purchasing everything online has made our lives easier and less stressful.

To encourage consumers to buy insurance online, insurers often offer discounts or other special deals for the internet user. It used to take hours or even days to compare buildings insurance rates. You had to call various companies and spend hours on the phone giving and getting information. Now you can fill out one form and get insurance quotes from several vendors almost immediately.

Some companies offer as much as 20% off for those who choose to buy online. Not to mention that the coverage can be immediate, which is of benefit to those who have waited until the very last moment to purchase home insurance, (usually just before closing on a mortgage)?

The one thing you must be careful of when purchasing home insurance online is to be sure to read the fine print and understand exactly what is and is not covered. If you have any type of special needs, it would be in your best interest to talk to the insurer directly and then go ahead and make an online purchase when you are ready.

Every home insurance policy is different, so you need to be able to get a good idea of what each one offers in order to compare home insurance quotes and policies properly. 

One of the first things you need to look at is the price.  There are always some policies that are vastly overpriced, but do not make the mistake of believing that a cheaper policy offers you less.  This is not necessarily the case.  Insurance policies are becoming cheaper all the time as more companies come into the marketplace and start vying for your business.   As long as a cheaper policy offers you all the cover that you need then opting for that is fine. 

The level of cover is very important.  If you only have an accidental damage clause on your policy that covers you for a few hundred pounds then that is no use if you have valuable items in your house.  The cover has to match your needs otherwise you are paying for a policy that will not really help you in an emergency. 

You also need to check the excess amount that is applied.  Different sections of the policy may have different excess levels so you need to be aware of what each one is and check that you could afford to pay the excess in the event of a claim.  If not you may have to consider a policy with a lower excess, but this is likely to make the premiums higher.

Landlords are responsible for insuring the building that you are living in, both from structural damage and weather damage. However, if you are renting a property and are looking for the peace of mind possible in knowing that your possessions are completely covered, then you must make your own arrangements for contents insurance. 

Some insurers have a specific ‘tenants insurance’ that you can arrange.  You may also be able to cover your liability if you personally cause any damage to the property that you are living in.  As with all house insurance policies, the details will vary for each insurance company. You will need to check your policy documents carefully to determine the actual level of cover you have. 

As you are a tenant, there may be occasions when either tradesmen or your landlord need to gain entry to the house or flat when you are absent (in the event of a water leak, for example). If you have valuable items then you should take care to lock them away just for added peace of mind as if they are stolen or damaged then it may be more difficult to claim on the grounds that they were easily accessible.

As with other house insurance policies, tenant’s contents insurance can be arranged so that your valuable items can be listed and covered individually and you will be charged an excess in the event of a claim.  You will also find that your quote varies depending on the area you are living in and the measures taken to prevent loss and damage.  The more preventative measures both you and your landlord take; the better your chances of obtaining a cheaper policy.

If you have a house with a mortgage you’ll have to take out home insurance, which is insurance against damage caused by subsidence, fire and flood; the level of cover required is arrived at by calculating the estimated cost of rebuilding the structure. If you add extensions to the house after taking out the policy the insurer must be informed so that they can provide cover for the added cost of rebuilding.

If you have a lease on a flat in a block, for example, your landlord may already have put buildings insurance in place, so you won’t have to bother. Also, bear in mind that if you leave a property for prolonged periods or let it out without telling the insurance company the policy may be void.

Contents insurance is optional, but is highly recommended, as it covers the replacement of movable items in your home, even when you are using some of them away from the property. It covers furniture and appliances, although fixed items such as fitted kitchens may already be covered by the buildings insurance and possibly also the garage and greenhouse or shed. It’s important to check exactly what is covered by each policy, as there’s no point in covering the same things twice, which will obviously be more expensive.

Travel insurance may have to be arranged when you are taking certain items abroad with you, although again these may already be covered by the contents policy.

‘New for old’ cover on contents is better, but a little costlier than basic indemnity cover, as it will replace lost or damaged items with brand new ones rather than with ones of about the same age.

Your home is an important part of your life as well as being probably your single biggest investment. Along with furnishing and maintaining it, it is important to protect it, not only physically, but financially too. Home contents insurance and buildings insurance policies come in many shapes and forms and when you compare home policies you’ll find a great deal of variation in the level of cover offered.

Buildings insurance is designed to cover the cost of rebuilding your property should fire, flooding, subsidence or other disaster strike it. Mortgage lenders insist you take out buildings insurance as a condition of making the loan, as this is their security against loss of the property. Whether you accept their recommendations for insurance providers or look for your own is up to you, but it’s worth shopping around.

House contents insurance is your choice and although you don’t have to take it out it is highly recommended. As well as accidental damage to your possessions, home contents insurance covers you for theft. Burglars can strike anywhere and anytime and are often more active during economic downturns, so it only makes sense to insure your personal effects against them.

Take out a new-for-old home contents insurance policy or go for the cheaper indemnity type. Take care which boxes you tick, as there will be options that don’t apply to you as well as others you’re particularly interested in and the cost is adjusted depending on the amount of cover you request. The cost of home contents insurance can be substantially reduced if you opt for a higher excess.

What is home and contents Insurance?

Home insurance is the product you buy to cover the structure of your home; while contents insurance is the product you buy to cover your possessions. The former is mandatory for anyone owning a home; the latter is optional.

Selecting the right home and contents insurance can be a little daunting; how much cover is enough, how much is too little, does this policy cover everything I need it to and so on? By investing some time in the selection process you can ensure that your needs will be met in the event of a claim.

How do I find the right policy for me?

Most mortgage lenders offer home and contents insurance, but before taking out one of their policies it is wise to take some time to do a bit of comparison-shopping.

On the Internet there are lots of sites that enable you to compare home insurance by using data that you provide to compile a list of alternative products. Brokers also can provide comparison deals or you can contact individual insurance companies yourself by Internet or telephone.

How much cover will I need?

The amount of coverage varies, based on individual circumstance. For home buildings insurance the amount should be the cost required to rebuild your home if it were completely destroyed, which is not the same as its market value. For contents insurance the amount should reflect the cost of replacing all of your household items, less depreciation for clothing and linen.

As with home insurance, your contents insurance cover should directly reflect the amount it would take to replace all of your household possessions if they were to be completely destroyed.

Determining your contents insurance needs

The average family is worth more than £45,000 in household possessions; however, to get an accurate assessment for you own specific requirements you would need to conduct a room by room inventory; including everything in the loft, garage, cellar and/or garden shed, as well as the main structure itself. Once listed, you would need to calculate what it would cost to replace each item at current prices; adjusting for typical wear and tear for things like clothing and linen.

While this is the most accurate way to determine the level of cover, for those looking for an easier solution there are insurers who offer a maximum amount of cover that, if acceptable to you, eliminates the need for maths. If the maximum amount is not sufficient additional blocks of cover can be added, for a price of course.

Working from home

Some insurance companies do not cover losses that result from home business activities; others provide a standard £5,000 maximum for home business equipment. If you work from home on a regular basis be sure to indicate the type of business separately from the home cover your policy provides. It might be that you will need to buy an additional policy to cover any business-related equipment you might have in your home.