While home insurance covers the structure of your home, you also need to consider your belongings as well. Contents insurance covers everything that you’d take with you if you were to move (i.e, anything that isn’t a permanent fixture).
Contents insurance insures against events like:
· Theft
· Vandalism
· Fire/ water damage
· Storm/ Earthquake
Why do you need to calculate contents insurance accurately?
To benefit from contents insurance, you must know the maximum cost of your house contents. This will cover the maximum amount your insurance cover will provide you with, so it is important that this figure is as accurate as possible.
If the amount is not estimated accurately, it may mean you may not receive enough payment to replace everything. This also works both ways, as if you overestimate the value of your home, you may end up paying for cover that you don’t need and won’t benefit from.
Working out contents insurance
Working out how much content insurance you need may be tricky, but it becomes much more manageable if you break it down. Think of it as akin to packing your house up for a move. You start by…
Calculating each item in each room.
It is good to break each room down to ensure you are taking account of all contents in your home. From your living room to your garden shed, ensure you are calculating each item inside each room of your home.
Rooms to include:
· Living room
· Kitchen
· Dining room
· Bedrooms
· Bathroom, garage and other
· Shed and garden
Once you designate what goes where you get to the important part of…
Identifying all contents
First, start by identifying your Contents. Content insurance covers a variety of contents inside the home.
Types of contents covered:
· Household goods
· Furniture
· Personal belongings
· Valuables
Some items that are not as obvious to include but should be included are:
· Clothes
· Christmas tree and decorations
· Garden equipment and ornaments
· Food
To find out more about what our contents insurance policy covers you, read our full list here.
The majority of content insurance policies cover a “ new to old “ basis. This means that if an item is misplaced, but the model is five years old, you will be replaced with a new model of the equivalent spec.
Important Tip: Estimate the prices as if you had to buy the new one rather than the price you originally paid for the items.
Include higher-value belongings
To ensure you are estimating the correct value. It is important to take note of high-value items. Making a note of higher value should be personal belongings inside your home that are more than £1,000.
Items to include are:
· Expensive electrical appliances
· Jewellery
· Works of Art
· Valuable collector’s items
It is a good idea to get the most out of your cover by getting items such as artwork or jewellery valued every few years (depending on the insurer). This means you can get the most effective cover and helps all your valuable belongings stay protected.
How much protection do your contents have while you are away?
It may also be a good idea to consider an additional cover that is fit to cover your possessions while you are away from home. Most insurers will ask you if you would like to add this on at an extra cost. Holiday insurance is great for those individuals who aren’t at home as often. This will cover your personal belongings if they are stolen, damaged or misplaced when you take them outside your home.
Peace of mind
Planning your home protection and don’t know where to start or how much content insurance you may need? Get peace of mind with AA Content Insurance.
All AA Content Insurance products now come with Emergency Home Rescue. From drain cover to failure of internal electrics, we’ve got you covered should something unexpected happen. Read the complete list of benefits here.
