Home Insurance - Are Your Contents Covered?

Home Insurance - Are Your Contents Covered?

 

Are your house contents insured?  Are you absolutely certain?  If you're under insured, from a legal point of view, you may as well not be insured at all.  Your insurer may simply scale back your claim by the amount you're under-insured, but they would be within their rights to reject the claim totally.

 

Many people under-estimate the value of their personal possessions.  If you go through your home, room by room, and make a rough mental note of the contents, you may be very surprised at what you come up with.  Don't forget to include portable electrical items, jewelry, designer clothes,paintings and even photograph frames. It's often the smaller items that are easily stolen in a "smash and grab" type of burglary and these can be the very items which you overlook in your valuation.

 

When working out the premium for your policy, insurers use your postal code, the size of your home and the claims history of the area.  Contents calculators are often available online, which are useful in deciding the level of coverage required.  There are steps you can take to help to cut premiums and stay safe.

 

In addition to the normal alarm system, you might consider installing motion-activated lights at the entrances to your house.  Not only are they a deterrent for the burglar but they're convenient for your own use too.  A security cover inside a letterbox makes sure a thief can't gain entry by putting a hand or instrument through it to open the door. Fitting all outside doors with efficient key-operated deadbolt locks is a good idea.

 

Inside the house, valuables could be kept in a safe and security fittings could secure any precious works of art.  It's a good idea to use some kind of marking or security code and record serial numbers, where this is relevant.  Photographs of your valuables are useful too.

 

There's a wide range of policies available.  With some insurers, it is normal for individual items valued at over $1,500 to be listed separately. These will be covered inside the home, but would need "personal belongings insurance" if they are to be insured away from home.

 

Some insurers offer discounts on homeowner's insurance if you cover both your home and your automobiles with the same company.  Ask your insurance agent if such discounts are offered in your area.

 

Just remember, you need to insure the full value of your belongings to avoid the risk of a claim being reduced or rejected, while still getting the very best value for money.  The easy way to do this is via an on-line insurance broker.  They'll be able to search a wide range of insurers and come up with the right policy to suit your own particular needs.