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Contents cover is the insurance you purchase that protects the contents of your home against loss.  While home insurance covers the building itself, contents cover insures everything inside, such as your furniture, electronics, and appliances.  It can even cover such things as musical instruments, antiques, jewellery, and other high-value items.

Knowing what’s covered—and what is not—is the first step in ensuring you have the right policy for your needs.  For someone just starting out, you’ll likely have a basic policy with a low excess, or the amount you’re expected to pay out of pocket.  However, as you go through life, your financial situation will perhaps improve and you will also accumulate more possessions.  Make sure you periodically review your contents cover to be sure it stays in step with your living situation.

Contents cover usually requires that you exercise ‘reasonable care’, meaning that you secure your home with locks (as well as any outbuildings), and that items of special value (a valuable painting, for example), be properly protected and perhaps separately insured. 

Your home’s contents cover will often cover items in your car as well, provided they are not visible and locked in the boot or glove compartment.  This, again, is part of reasonable care, and items of special value might require a separate policy.  Contents cover may include coverage for items temporarily removed from the home, although sometimes there is exclusion for high-value items.  Therefore, if you are a musician with a valuable instrument, you may wish to cover that item separately for better protection.

If you have been fortunate enough to buy a listed building, you will need to purchase insurance that will cover rebuilding costs in accordance with English Heritage requirements.  Compare home insurance quotes to find out what the cost will be for reinstatement, valuation, documentation and high net worth cover.

The building will need to be rebuilt using traditional methods and materials.  Since historic restorations are inevitably more expensive than normal building costs an additional amount of reinstatement cover will be required. 

It will be necessary for a valuation to be carried out by experts in historical buildings to determine what needs to be done and what it might cost.  The insurable value of your property can also be determined in this way.  While this is being done, documentation should be completes, so you have a reference in case you need to file a claim in the future.

High net worth cover will be required if the building is valued at more than £250,000.  Compare home insurance to find the best company to cover your listed building.  The contents should also be insured and the upper limit for this is usually around £75,000.  If the property contains particularly valuable items you will reach that limit quite quickly.  Make sure that when you compare companies you have a clear understanding of what will be insured and how much the premiums will be.

When you’re considering building or contents insurance, you’ll want to compare several quotes from different companies.  The best way to ensure you can make the most use of the information you’ll get is to spend a few minutes beforehand deciding what you need.
 
For example:  for either policy, how much will your deductible be?  If you’re undecided, remember that you can request a quote at various levels, for example £500 and £1000.  So long as you keep the deductible levels the same between companies, this will help you compare identical products.  Another factor is what types of coverage you want.  For example, building cover alone simply replaces the building itself.  You may wish to also consider personal liability insurance in the event someone injures themselves on your property, and very likely contents insurance that will replace the furniture and other items in your home in the event of a loss.
 
Once you have the specifics of types of coverage and liability limits identified, it’s time to begin getting some quotes.  All insurers have websites, and you can usually obtain a quote within a few minutes from each company.  There are also some ‘aggregator’ websites like MoneySupermarket.com which can offer quotes from several different companies at once.  However, aggregator sites may not include quotes from all the companies in which you’re interested, so be sure to look at the search results to see that it includes everything you wish.
 
Once you have your initial quotes, you’re well on your way to the best deal on home insurance.

If you carry home insurance, building insurance or content insurance, there are many things that can suddenly make your policy ineffective or even void at the time you may need it most.  To ensure you are properly covered, here are a few tips to consider.

If you want to add a little something to your building or home, make sure you share this with your insurance provider.  Not only will an extension make your property more valuable, it will also need to be reflected in your home insurance or building insurance policy.  Include any new furniture. This needs to be done before the work begins. 

We are all guilty of taking our valuable outside of the home. As soon as we do this, the item is no longer insured.  Contents insurance does not usually protect our personal possessions.  Check your content insurance policy for coverage on items such as jewellery, cameras and laptops.

If your property suddenly becomes a rental, this changes your home insurance policy.  Once you have a renter, the risks change, therefore, your coverage may be restricted or you may be required to pay a higher premium.  It’s a good idea to let your head lessee or mortgage lender know you are letting your property or any insurance claim could risk being rejected.

If you are of an accident prone nature or have kids who are, taking out Accidental Damage insurance may not be a bad idea.  It is not a coverage that is automatically included with any home insurance policy, so it will cost extra.  However, a spilled coffee across your laptop may just pay for itself through premium payments.

Buildings insurance is intended to cover you for the cost of repairing or rebuilding your home if some unfortunate event, such as flooding or fire, damage or destroy your property.  But what value do you need to insure it for?

The misperception is that you need to insure your property for its full market value.  In fact, buildings insurance should cover the cost of completely rebuilding any structures on your property, which will be substantially less than the market price.

If you over insure your property you will end up paying premiums higher than you really need.  This is not an ideal situation, but it might not involve significant amounts.  Far worse is underinsuring your property.  If the insured amount is lower than the value of your property you will be paid proportionately less when you make a claim.  For example, if your property is underinsured by 25% you will receive only 75% of any amount you claim, so fire damage of £20,000 will leave you with an amount of £15,000.  It is therefore very important that you insure your home for the correct amount.

The best way of determining the amount you should insure your home for is by contacting a chartered surveyor.  However, the Building Cost Information Service has an online database, which is useful for homeowners who have fairly standard properties, such as a detached or semi-detached house, though certain restrictions do apply.

If you are a homeowner, a landlord or a tenant then home insurance is a necessity.  Home insurance covers any damage to your property that is caused by floods, fire or loss of items due to burglary.  It is vital that you find a home insurance policy that will provide sufficient cover to ensure that your home and items fully remain protected.

There are a wide variety of companies that offer home insurance.  By checking out a wide selection of them you are sure to find a home insurance policy that is just right for you.  If you are a homeowner or a landlord, then you will need a policy that covers you for theft or damage caused by fire or floods.  If you are a tenant, then contents insurance is a necessity to ensure that your personal belongings are covered.

When purchasing house insurance, you should take some time to identify any restrictions in your preferred policy.  Some companies may not provide cover for certain types of property, so checking for any restrictions will help prevent problems from arising if you have to make a claim.  It is well worth spending a little extra time finding a company that offers the exact level of cover that you need to protect your home and personal items.

There are many companies operating in the market today, all of whom will be eager to provide you with house insurance quotes, so be sure to find one that offers just what you are looking for.  Using comparison websites will enable you to quickly find a policy that meets your requirements.

There are two types of insurance you should take out if you own a property, contents insurance and buildings insurance.  If you live in a flat or apartment the landlord will normally be responsible for the buildings insurance, but you should check nevertheless.  The contents insurance will be left to you and should certainly be purchased.

The buildings insurance covers the cost of rebuilding the property, should it be damaged beyond repair by a whole raft of events, ranging from fire and flood to earthquake, explosions and vandalism by a third party.  It covers the permanent fixtures and fittings, including gates and footpaths, fitted kitchens and wardrobes, wallpaper and paint, as well as cables and pipes.

Contents insurance, unlike buildings insurance, is not a necessity, but most people wisely choose to take it out.  You never know when accidental damage is going to occur or when a burglar will take it into his head to help himself to your possessions.  Contents insurance covers a number of items that you might have thought would be covered by the buildings insurance and they can, in fact, overlap to some extent.  For example, the window that the burglar breaks to get in will be covered by contents insurance, as will damaged locks and suchlike.

Generally, contents insurance covers non-fixed items, such as furniture and freezer contents, along with garden furniture.  Items that are especially costly to replace will need separate insurance and you will also need travel insurance if you are taking any of your possessions with you on holiday.

There are two types of insurance, which are sold under the heading of home insurance.  Contents insurance covers the contents of the property, while buildings insurance covers the structure.

The combined buildings insurance and contents insurance fully protects the house against all forms of loss and damage.  Most buildings insurance and contents insurance are sold as a combined home insurance policy, but it is possible to purchase them separately.

Buildings insurance is compulsory on all mortgaged properties, as the lender will require it to protect against damage to their asset.  Contents insurance is optional, but you would be unwise to omit it.

Buildings insurance covers the house against a disaster that would require it to be rebuilt and the sum assured will be the estimated rebuilding cost.  The damage may be caused by a range of events, such as fire, flood, explosions, burst pipes and subsidence.  Damage caused by third party vandalism can also be insured against and there will be a list of options on the policy document for you to check out.

Contents insurance covers all the non-fixed items in the house, such as furniture, jewellery and clothing.  There are other items, such as freezer contents that are normally also covered and even garden furniture, which is classed as being household furniture, along with the sofas and chairs.  Cover can be either new for old or indemnity; with new for old cover replacing the lost or damaged item with a brand new one of the same type and indemnity replacing it with one of the same age.

Insurance companies often use industry jargon and expressions that can cause some consternation for people unfamiliar with them.  Here is a basic guide to some of the more frequently used terms – part six in our alphabetical series – that will help make sure that you are fully aware of what the terms and conditions of your insurance policy actually are.

Period of Insurance – The length of time for which you are protected by the home insurance policy that you have taken out.

Personal Effects (aka Personal Belongings) – Often included in home insurance policies, this also provides coverage for any loss or damage to personal items which you may take outside of the central property, including items such as cash,  credit cards, jewellery, and MP3 players.  Some policies have different variations (many do not include coverage for the loss or damage to mobile phones, for instance) so you need to check to make certain precisely which personal effects you are in fact covered for.

Policy – This is the actual document that has been drawn up by the insurance company and signed by both of you.  It provides the wording to detail precisely how you are protected by the coverage that you have chosen to take out with them and your own responsibilities to uphold the agreement (the amount of money you must pay, for example).
 
Policy holder – Upon signing of a contract, this would be you.

Premium – This refers to the amount of money that you have agreed to pay for the length of insurance protection given by the insurance company.

Buildings and contents insurance are two types of insurance that are bracketed under the term home insurance.  If you have a mortgage then you will require buildings insurance, whereas contents insurance is not compulsory.  Both offer you peace of mind in the event of theft or damage to your property or personal possessions.

How to Calculate your Buildings Insurance

Your buildings insurance premium is based on the amount it would cost to rebuild your house; it is not the same as the market value of the property, which is usually much more.  A surveyor would be able to give you this information or you can use the online rebuilding calculator on the Building Cost Information Service (BCIS) website.

Using the calculator is a simple process.  First, work out the gross external floor area of your house and then square the total.  You will next be asked to band your house, based on its type, for example, detached, semi-detached, etc.  You then have to band its age and the region where you live. Finally, factor in inflation and you will arrive at a reasonable estimate for the price of rebuilding your home.

How to Calculate your Contents Insurance

Most people underestimate how much it would cost to replace all their personal possessions and belongings in the event of a fire or burglary.

Go through all the rooms in the house and make a list of every single item in it, remembering to include things in drawers, cupboards, the attic, outbuildings, garage and garden shed.