Contents insurance

Once you have the structure of your home covered by Buildings insurance, it is worth considering protection for the contents of your home, your belongings. Policies differ, but primarily the purpose of contents insurance is to cover the costs of replacing or repairing your possessions if they are stolen, destroyed or damaged.

Contents of your home generally include things that are not fixed: this could include any artefacts, computers, cameras, televisions, CD players, clothes, jewellery, furniture and even fridge and freezer contents. Sometimes your contents insurance will cover items such as bicycles that generally live at home but are taken away sometimes. Other policies will cover things like handbag contents in the event of theft. Furthermore, some policies will cover accidental damage and legal expenses incurred whilst pursuing personal liability claims.
In order to determine how much your premium will be the insurer will need to ask you numerous questions.

These could include:

When you are at your property: if you leave it vacant for much of the year your premium could skyrocket. Uninhabited properties are obviously more at risk from burglary.
What your job is: if you are away a lot, or you are in a particularly high-profile position you could face a higher premium.

Your criminal record, and your past insurance claims record.
Your location: some areas are more likely to claim than others.

The cost of your premium is directly related to the risk posed to the insurer. Special employees called risk assessors will consider any factor that they think means you may claim in the future. It is essential to be as honest and accurate as possible when filling out insurance forms. If you fail to do so, this is termed ‘non-disclosure.’ This will then nullify your policy should you make a claim. Insurance companies aim to keep the amount paid out to customers at a minimum: they are businesses that perform and essential function. One way they can avoid a payout is to check closely any details that you have provided to them for inconsistencies, so apply with care.

To accurately decide how much to insure your property for, make a full and comprehensive inventory checklist of everything in your home. Calculate your contents insurance from the total of how much it would cost to replace every single item. It is worth taking your time over this.