Home Contents Insurance

According to a recent insurance survey 9 out of 10 households in the UK were found to have under-insured their home's contents by at least £10,000. If this trend is applied nationally it results in a figure of somewhere in the region of £250 billion pounds worth of un-insured household possessions.

Results like this prove there are literally thousands of homes at risk from incorrect home contents valuations. Even more worrying is the fact that households with single occupants were at even greater risk, for out of those living alone over 30% had failed to buy any house contents insurance at all. Many of these were high earners with disposable incomes that were predominantly spent on gadgets, expensive clothing, dvd players and entertainment systems, all of which are costly to replace and the equipment appearing most attractive to the burglar. In most cases they just did not realise the total worth of their home's contents and therefore failed to insure these valuables against loss.

The value of contents in the average home is in the region of £30,000 - £40,000, and that's without any extras like art collections or antiques that some homeowners like to keep on their premises. Most people give priority only to buildings insurance as this is insisted upon by mortgage providers, but in truth your house has a higher risk of being burgled than ever receiving damage from a fire or flood. So, to fully protect your assets, be it the bricks and mortar or the possessions inside, you need to have adequate home contents insurance as well as insurance that covers the house. These policies can either be bought together or taken out separately, though you will often find insurers willing to give discounts if you consolidate both your home's insurance and the content's insurance with them.

Home Contents Quotes

Remember, always review your home contents insurance every couple of years and assess whether the value of the contents has changed. At the same time, do apply for new quotes with different companies as you may find an insurer who was previously more expensive now offering it cheaper than your current insurance provider. Not all insurance companies can be the cheapest for everyone all of the time, so if your circumstances have changed then get a new quote from insurers you previously found too expensive. By doing this you can often find that last years expensive quote has turned into this years cheapest option.

The Risk of Under Valuing Contents for Insurance Policies

Cutting costs by under insuring the contents of your home will put you at risk of losing out if ever you have to claim on your insurance. The company that sold you your contents insurance might apply the condition of average or under-insurance clause. Such a clause entitles them to pay out only a portion of the full claim based on how much you were under-insured. For example, if your home contents insurance only covers you for 75% of the true value and one day you had to make a claim, then the insurers are likely to give you only 75% of the total value of that claim. The only way to guarantee full payment is to make sure you have insurance that reflects the true value of your home's contents. On the whole, though, the majority who under-insure only do so because they underestimate the true value of their home's contents, and not because they think it will give them a cheaper quote.

Valuing Home Contents

The only way to get an accurate figure is to do a thorough room by room inventory, and that literally does mean leaving no stone unturned. Include in your inventory clothes, valuables, ornaments, jewellery, paintings, furniture, appliances, and gadgets etc. Then do an equally thorough list for lofts, garages and outbuildings. When you come to value your inventory do not confuse the purchase price with the replacement cost, as this is often a common mistake made by a lot of people. Your best bet is to use up-to-date retailers catalogues to get current prices on items in your inventory, as the chances are many items will have increased in price since you first bought them.

Insuring Art and Antiques

For art and antique collectors invariably the value of their collections will warrant a more specialist insurance policy. The standard home contents insurance will not be sufficient to cover items of high net worth, and will only give limited cover possibly to the region of £100,000. There are, however, plenty of specialist insurers that give cover for art collections and antique collectibles.

If you want to reduce the cost of your home contents insurance we have compiled some tips for you:

Extras

Removing any extras from your home contents insurance will still leave you with good basic cover, but at a much reduced price. Such things as legal cover and freezer contents cover can easily be omitted, but weigh up the odds and see whether you will feel vulnerable without them.

Payments

Annual payments normally work out cheaper than monthly ones. In fact, some insurers could charge up to 30% more if you opt for paying for your insurance on a monthly basis.

Security

Any additional security measures you take to protect your home will always reduce the risk of burglary, and could even get you a reduction on your insurance policy. Fitting locks on windows, deadbolts on doors and installing alarm systems will further increase your home's security, and will encourage insurance providers to discount your contents insurance to some degree.

Outbuildings

Garages, sheds and greenhouses can be rich pickings for the thief, so do ensure that they are also included in those extra security measures you are adding to your home.

Claiming

Consider whether it's worth claiming for something relatively minor, for in doing so the chances are your premium will rise the following year. Once you have calculated this into the equation, plus the excess you have to pay, then it's sometimes cost effective to pay for minor incidents out of your own pocket.

Working From Home

Finally, if you run a business from home you need to tell your insurance provider that you are doing so, for operating a business from home premises can dramatically increase the value of contents within the home. However, providing your business doesn't involve clients calling at your property then most insurance companies won't see this as a problem. In fact, they are more likely to deem your property less of a risk due to the fact it's occupied for more hours during the day, therefore burglars will be deterred and any fire risk will be minimised. Though, failing to tell your insurance provider you work from home could actually invalidate your entire policy, so don't leave it to chance and risk not having any insurance for all that expensive home office equipment.

Click Here for a Home Contents Quote