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Contents Insurance

Unlike buildings insurance, contents insurance is not compulsory, but it’s wise to have it. Contents insurance covers any item that is not part of your home, such as goods, furniture, and other valuables. Some contents insurance policies even cover the contents of your fridge and freezer! Other policies may cover items outside your home for an additional extra too.

But contents insurance policies don’t just cover the every day items in your home. Imagine if you had a fire or your home was flooded, you could end up having to refit new kitchen, a washing machine, a boiler and be hit with a bill for thousands of pounds.

What does contents insurance cover?

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• The cost of your possessions
• Carpets, furniture, electrics
• It may cover goods in your outbuildings

It protects your possessions from:

• Fire damage
• Floods and storms
• Natural disasters
• Vandalism or malicious damage
• Theft

It may also cover

• Theft outside of your property, whilst you are abroad for example
• Garden furniture or equipment
• Accidental damage

It does not cover:

• Self-inflicted damage – eg DIY gone wrong
• Loss or stolen items outside a certain distance of your property

Features available

• New-for-old – replaces items with today’s equivalent price. Although it may cost more it could be worth it for furniture and electrical goods.
• Indemnity cover - takes into account the wear and tear of the item, so the cost of replacing it is taken into consideration.
• All risks – covers all items taken outside home, such as jewellery, wallets, mobile phones. It can be useful when you go on holiday.
• Legal cover – should you need to compensate someone for injury, or are involved in a dispute with your neighbour.
• Freezer contents cover – should food in your fridge and freezer become inedible.
• Sports equipment – golf clubs, racquets.
• Garden equipment – lawn mowers, hedge trimmers, power tools.

Other things to bear in mind

• Flats and Apartments - If you live in a flat or an apartment, your contents insurance policy will differ from the standard type, as it needs to take into considerations such as theft from a tenant, or previous tenants with keys. It’s important that you check the ‘shared entrance’ clause.
• Landlord - As a landlord you will need to have buildings insurance, as it is often considered the tenant’s responsibility to insure their possessions. However, you may need to have insured such as sofas or beds that furnish it, or curtains and carpets that may not seem important to them. It is always advisable to have a minimum level of contents insurance replace flood or fire. Specialist policies let you cover the basics.
  • Emergency assistance – covers the cost of a call out by a contractor to carry out some emergency work.
  • Legal cover – should you need assistance with tenants who damage your property, refuse to pay rent or refuse to leave your property.
  • Rent Guarantee – pays you the rent even if your tenant refuses to do so.
• Valuables - Some contents insurance policies will only insure up to a minimum for each item. For more expensive items, such as jewellery or antiques, you may need to insure these with additional cover, or take out a separate policy.
• Accidental damage - Imagine if you were to spill paint on your brand new carpet, or your children knock over an expensive vase, or have a cat that can’t get enough of scratching your furniture. Adding accidental damage to your policy covers you for items that may be dropped and broken or damaged unintentionally. Although it costs extra, seeing as we are far more likely to damage or destroy an expensive item by accident, accidental damage cover is a wise idea.
• Excess - With any insurance policy, it is always important that you read the small print to see what you are and what you are not covered for. You don’t want to have an even nastier shock if you find out your stolen laptop actually wasn’t covered.

Contents insurance exclusions

For contents insurance, common exclusions may have limits as to the amount you can claim for.

Some policies will not pay out if:

• You lose or have an item stolen outside a certain distance of your property
• Wilful damage
• Damage caused by bad DIY
• Damage to expensive art or antiques – unless it is covered as an additional extra, but may be offered as standard by another provider, so it is worth shopping around