Get cheap home insurance quotes from Confused.com
Does my contents insurance automatically include very valuable items?
It pays to read your policy because even cheap home contents insurance policies sold in the UK can cover accidental damage to expensive household items such as televisions, home computers and washing machines.
If you have valuable antiques, jewellery or paintings, you will need to list these individually on your home contents insurance. Most companies in the UK will adjust your policy to include specific items if they aren't automatically covered.
Valuable items which you take out of your home, such as jewellery, laptops and cameras, may not be covered by a standard home contents insurance plan and you may need extended cover to protect them.
Extended house contents insurance protects your valuables when they're outside your home, even if you have left the UK, although insurers usually require proof of value, such as a receipt or jeweller's valuation.
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What's a high-risk item?
When it comes to home content insurance, UK insurers do not necessarily consider the most expensive items in your home as the greatest risks.
Anything on the list below will be viewed as a high-risk item and should be listed separately to get accurate house contents insurance quotes:
- Antiques (not including furniture)
- Home entertainments systems
- Coin, stamp and medal collections
- Computers
- Jewellery and other items containing gold, silver or precious stones
- Pictures and works of art
- Watches and clocks
- Photographic equipment
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How can I qualify for cheap home contents insurance?
The way to get a cheap contents insurance policy is to reduce the chances that you'll need to make a claim. If you have a lot of valuable jewellery, lock it in a safe. You can protect your home and lower your premium by fitting good-quality locks to the windows and doors and installing a burglar alarm.
Another step to getting cheap contents insurance is to reduce your risk of fire. You can fit smoke alarms and keep a fire extinguisher in the kitchen.
Check out the how to beat the burglars and how to reduce the risk of fire tips from the Association of British Insurers for some good advice on getting cheap home contents insurance.
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How much contents insurance do I need?
To work out how much contents insurance you need, make a list of the rooms in your house and under each heading write down all the items in it, not forgetting the garden. Commonly overlooked items include curtains, carpets and bedding.
Check to see if your home contents insurance policy covers any high-risk items you may own as these might need to be listed separately. Once you have done this, add up the individual amounts to see the value of contents insurance protection you require.
The Association of British Insurers has a home contents value calculator to help you work out the value of your possessions.
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Is all house contents insurance the same?
Definitely not. When comparing cheap house contents insurance quotes, it's worth looking at what's included in the policy. Some home content insurance companies in the UK include lots of additional extras as part of a cheap contents insurance policy while others charge extra.
These include:
- Extended accidental damage - includes accidental damage to specific high-risk items.
- Legal Expenses Cover - this pays your court costs to protect your legal rights. Common examples include someone suing you after injuring themselves in your home or if a neighbour's tree causes damage to your property.
- Freezer Cover - pays for the damage if your freezer malfunctions.
- New-for-old cover - replaces your stolen or damaged items with the equivalent item at today's prices.
- All-risks cover - protects items taken outside your home, such as your laptop or jewellery. These items and their value have to be agreed with the provider of your cheap contents insurance.
Remember: your home contents insurance provider will only pay out what you're insured for, even if that's less than the value of your claim. Therefore, it's vital you are as accurate as possible when valuing your possessions.
What do I do next?
You can start saving money today by searching for your home contents insurance with Confused.com. Just enter your information once and we'll search the market for a list of house contents insurance quotes.
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