Summary:  
home insurance covers all removable items in your home.  Find out what it would cost to replace your belongings.  You can choose to pay more for additional cover.

Look around your home and notice the portable things that you take for granted, like computers, TV’s , your clothes, jewellery and the furniture, even the fish, meat and veg in your freezer. Oh and don’tDo not miss out the lawn mower and garden tools if you keep it in a locked shed in the garden.  And cash you may keep in a drawer, up to around £100 perhaps. These things make up the ‘contents’ for insurance purposes and they ought to be insured against loss or damage.

It is not mandatory to have contents policies so being able to obtain a home loan wouldn’t depend on having it, nonetheless it’s pretty important.

People normally claim if their property has been stolen or damaged, but a contents insurance policy would usually also cover circumstances such as an explosion, damage due to water leaks or vandalism.

The expense of replacing the locks is usually covered on a contents policy if your handbag was taken with the house keys in it. 

Unfortunate mishaps frequently happen, and most insurance covers will pay out for damaged ceilings for instance.  You have to specify and pay more additional costs to include damage to electrical items, so check the clauses in the policy carefully to be certain that you are receiving the cover you expect.

You can choose an ‘all risks’ extension to your contents policy which covers damage or loss to your valuables, when you travel away from home.  Items like binoculars, cameras, spectacles and of course your jewellery.

Most insurance policies contain personal liability insurance which pays out if an other person hurts themselves on your land, or if you damage someone else’s belongings in their house.  This claim could be for up to 1 million pounds .

Some policies have provisos such as raising your cover around Xmas when you are likely to have more gifts around, also for two months either side of a family member’s wedding so the wedding gifts are well insured. 

Another gain for families whose youngsters are away at uni is when your contents policy covers their individual belongings and household items where they are living.  The cover could be for up to 12 percent of your total sum insured.

Running a business from home will need an additional policy,  as a lot of contents policies exclude cover for this.

The more insurance you wantthe more expensive your payments. The sum you are covered for is the total the life insurance company will settle, even if everything you own is completely ruined.  So you need to think very  carefully and tot up the value of your goods.

It’s difficult to know the value of your possessions but you must have some idea in order to insure them properly.  Look through the whole house – garage, loft, shed, everywhere, and make a complete list.  Find out the replacement cost of your belongings.  It could come as a shock!

This doesn’t  apply to towels, clothes or bedding for instance, as wear and tear is subtracted from the cost of new.  Cheap Life Insurance companies calculate the cost of a coat, for example, by taking off a third of the initial cost for each year you’ve had it.

Many insurance companies give bistowe discounts for having recommended locks to doors and windows, for example, or to client who haven’t made any previous claims.

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