Contents insurance
What is Contents insurance?
Contents insurance covers the things in your home if they’re stolen, damaged or destroyed. This includes your furniture, clothes, carpets and curtains. Think of it as a safety net for the things you own. This is different to buildings insurance which covers the structure of the property, contents insurance is all about what's inside.
Think about it this way, if your home was to be turned upside-down, anything that would fall could be covered by contents insurance, anything fixed in place could be covered by building insurance (subject to terms and conditions and specific exclusions).
Buildings and contents insurance can be bought together, however, if you're renting, your landlord is responsible for insuring the building but your belongings are your responsibility. Some providers also let you protect stand-alone items, such as bikes or jewellery.
All contents insurance policies may seem the same, but they will all have slight differences.
It's important to read the information provide so you pick the one that meets your needs, don’t be afraid to ask questions.
Prices can also vary depending on
• The type of property
• The postcode
• If you’ve had previous claims
And lots of other factors.
That’s why you’ll be asked a range of questions to help the provider understand the risk and the price.
Shop around
Before you buy and before you renew. Using a price comparison site (also known as an aggregator) can be a good way of getting a selection of prices based on the cover you want.
Whether you're a renter or homeowner, think about the value of the items in your property, you don’t want to pay for more cover than you need but you don’t want to find out that you don’t have enough cover if you have to claim.
You might also want to think about how much you have (or don’t have) in savings, do you want to spend this if something goes wrong or would you rather not dip into it. Would you need to get a loan to cover the cost of replacing items in the event of an issue? Or would you like the peace of mind which is where contents insurance could help you.