Home contents insurance is basically protection against the cost of replacing the things in your home if they are lost, stolen, or damaged. As with home buildings insurance, the main reasons you can make a claim on your home contents insurance include theft or burglary, damage caused by floods, broken water pipes or boilers, etc.
When you insure your home's contents, there are, however, two very important things to keep in mind:
- Second, it doesn't matter if you own or rent the place you live in; you should still look into insuring the things inside your home because they are yours.
- First, your mortgage provider isn't likely to make you get home contents insurance as part of your mortgage agreement.
When you look at the different types of home contents insurance policies, you should also think carefully about two other things. In some cases, but not all, you can be insured for the things in your home even if they are not actually on the "property" of your home. So, let's say,
- First, you can file a claim if something is stolen while you are moving it from one place to another.
Second, home contents insurance covers the cost of replacing the things that are insured.
It doesn't cover the sentimental value of the item you lose or damage, and it's not meant to. So, if you insure a picture that your grandmother gave you before she died and that would cost GBP20 to replace, it doesn't matter that your grandmother gave it to you before she died and that it can't be replaced.
Even though home contents insurance is usually completely voluntary, there are a few very rare exceptions. If you're not sure if it's worth it, take a quick mental inventory of the things in your home and how much they're worth. Then, get a few quotes from the internet, and you'll soon see how important it is to have your home contents properly insured.
