Home Contents Home Insurance

Home insurance is usually divided into two aspects: Building insurance and contents insurance. If you want financial protection for furniture and furnishings, white goods, electrical appliances, clothes, and any other items kept in the home, you will need contents insurance. This is applicable to both homeowners and people who are renting their property. Even valuables up to a stated limit will be covered!

A contents insurance policy will provide protection in the case of theft or damage to your property. In terms of damage to your property, contents insurance will cover you against a stated list of perils. This typically includes fire, subsidence, leaking pipes/tanks, falling trees, flood and storm.

There are two types of cover, new for old cover, and indemnity insurance:

The majority of people opt for new for old contents cover, which, if a claim is made, will replace an insured item with a brand new version if it is stolen or damaged. What you can and can not insure under replacement depends entirely upon your contents insurance provider - you will have to shop around to find the most suitable policy for you. Clothing and household linen, however, can not be insured on this basis.

A cheaper alternative to new for old contents cover is called indemnity insurance, whereby a deduction on an insured item will be made from your claim payment to account for wear and tear of the damaged item.

An important consideration to take into account is the sum for which you insure your contents. You must insure the contents for their full value, as this will be the sum that you will be paid if you need to make a claim. If you under-insure your contents, your payments will be reduced and you will have to pay out yourself to put things right.

For more comprehensive levels of cover, optional add-ons are recommended, and are offered by most home insurance companies. These add-ons include, for example, accidental damage cover and garden or sports equipment cover.