Contents insurance is optional, but highly recommended. This will protect your possessions inside the house against loss and damage and you can tailor it to suit your needs. The most basic form of contents insurance is indemnity, but this doesn’t amount to too much if your prized possessions are stolen or damaged, because it will simply replace them with items of approximately the same age. ‘New for old’, on the other hand, will replace them with brand new items. Bear in mind that some of your possessions could also be covered away from the house, like cameras and bikes, although if you take them on holiday with you you’ll most likely have to take out a separate travel insurance policy.

Some items may be so valuable that you’ll have to insure them separately and the upper limit of normal contents insurance for any one item is usually about £1,000, though this varies from policy to policy.

Who needs buildings insurance?

If you are a homeowner, buildings insurance is your responsibility. If you own a flat, then there is good chance that your buildings insurance is already covered in your ground rent. Check with the freeholder to confirm.

If you are letting a property, buildings insurance is the landlord’s responsibility. However, you are not responsible for contents cover, except for those items you provide. To ensure you are covered in case of loss, you must take out contents insurance yourself.

Choosing the right policy

For homeowners living in owned properties, all-inclusive policies can be an easy solution; however, you must be careful to read the policy thoroughly, including the fine print. There may be conditions or exclusions that, if you are unaware of, could leave you uninsured at a time you need it most.

What make a good policy?

A good policy provides just the right amount of cover, not too much and not too little. Too much will result in unnecessary premiums, while too little will lead to uninsured losses. The amount of cover should be based on what it would cost to completely rebuild and/or replace everything in the event of total a loss.

In the event of a disaster, it’s possible that your television, DVD collection, family photo albums, furniture, clothing, carpets, and keepsakes might all be destroyed.  While money cannot replace the memories or sentimentality associated with certain items, an insurance payout from your home contents insurance will definitely help replace the physical items needed for daily life.

When you compare home insurance, you can choose from two types of contents insurance policy, one that replaces items as new or one that pays for the item’s depreciated value.  This second policy, a wear-and-tear coverage, is often the least expensive.  Extra coverage can always be added for pricier items such as artwork, antiques, and jewellery.

Accurately estimate the worth of your eligible belongings before purchasing a contents insurance plan.  Take into consideration the cost of replacing carpets, bedding, books, and even kitchen gadgets when calculating your total costs.  The best way to calculate the amount to be insured is to go room-by-room and make a comprehensive list.  Also include all items stored in garages, sheds, and your yard.

Calculate the value of your possessions with the help of the Association of British Insurers’ website.  Compare home insurance prices on Supermoneymarket.com when you have completed your replacement cost calculations.

These sites will ask you to select the type of insurance that you want and complete a short questionnaire relating to it.  For example, you will be asked to confirm if your house has a burglar alarm and fire alarms, the type of doors and windows you have and the area you live in.  Each of these will have an impact on the amount of money you are quoted for your buildings and contents insurance so remember to answer all questions accurately.

The site will then take a moment to collate all this information and compare it to the details which have been provided to them by the insurance companies and then indicate the different prices quoted by all the relevant home insurance companies in the form of a table (which can be sorted according to price). You can then easily compare home insurance quotes based on the criteria you provided earlier.

Each company will have a link to their site; so that you can choose the quote you prefer, go to their company website and complete your details there in order to purchase the policy.  You may find that some will offer an initial discount for purchasing online that is not reflected when your renewal comes through, but it is worth taking advantage of these initial discounts as they can save you as much as 25% on your policy cost.

Amongst the hundreds of other things to think about, you will be asked to take out home insurance. It is required by law, so there is no avoiding it. What can be avoided however, is paying too much when it is not necessary.

Mortgage companies attempt to be helpful when it comes time to buy insurance. You may think it is easier to buy the insurance from the finance company, whether it is mortgage insurance, house insurance or contents insurance. Yes, it is convenient, but it is almost always a mistake. You are not required to purchase insurance from your bank or mortgage lender. Insurance purchased from a bank or a mortgage lender is most often much more expensive than other insurers. It does not mean that the insurance is overpriced or inferior; it simply means that you will fare much better if you do some comparison shopping ahead of the closing the sale. You may find that with a little time and effort you can save thousands by choosing the right insurer to fit your needs.

•    The risk of vandalism and/or theft can be reduced in several ways:
    o    Installing a burglar alarm
    o    Installing time-switch lights
    o    Placing secured exterior lighting at strategic points around the outside of your property
    o    Planting prickly hedges and/or thorny, flowering bushes underneath your windows to deter would-be burglars
    o    Fitting bars on ground floor windows
    o    Buying a safe to store your valuable items
    o    Joining a Neighbourhood Watch programme

•    You can reduce risks associated with fire by fitting and maintaining smoke alarms in every room.

•    Increasing the amount of your policy excess, the amount you’re willing to pay in the event of a claim, will reduce your monthly premiums.

•    Actively look for discounts, such as no-claims bonuses or special premium rates for over-45s or non-smokers etc. Some companies also offer reduced premium deals for customers who take out a range of products, including home insurance, contents insurance and car insurance.

Before making a final decision it is important to compare as many prices and policies as possible. Don’t cross compare, but compare ‘like with like’ policies; for instance, compare indemnity with indemnity versus indemnity with replacement as new.  Also take the time to read the policies to ensure you are getting sufficient coverage.

Though precautions are taken to lock windows and doors to protect against individuals gaining access to the inside of a property, items left outside the home are at considerable risk. Items kept in garages and sheds have been found to add up to sizeable sums of money, and opportunistic thieves could take even garden furniture. Meanwhile, with possessions left to the pounding of the elements, damage and breakages could occur, resulting in financial loss for the owner if no appropriate household insurance is held.

When looking to cover such items, compare home insurance across a number of companies. Some insurers will automatically include outside items in the general net protection sum, but it is becoming increasingly normal for garden items to be covered by a specific add-on. Added to the monthly premium, this extra will ensure that items outside can be replaced or repaired if necessary. Meanwhile for those not wishing to incur this extra cost, it is important for steps to be taken to increase the security of items by storing them out of sight and using locks on sheds.

As is the case with many household products, garden and outside equipment is increasing in net worth. It is therefore vital that homeowners consider such possessions in their overall contents insurance valuations and make sure that appropriate cover is held should the worst occur.

Buildings insurance will help to protect you if you have tenants living in your property and any structural damage occurs.  Buildings insurance will cover you for damage to walls, windows, floors and also the roof of your property. 

Every insurance company will offer you a different combination of factors on the buildings insurance.  You need to be sure that the valuation that they give for the cost of rebuilding your house is adequate.  When you update your insurance it is a good idea to check to see if the company still charges the same price for this cover.  Many insurance companies now offer a large amount of cover but there are some that do not. 

The amount of cover that you have will also affect your premiums.  The more cover that you have or want, the more you will be expected to pay for it.  By shopping carefully you can ensure that you only pay for what you actually need. 

Buildings insurance will pay out the cost of rebuilding your property in the event of a disaster such as subsidence, storm, or fire rendering its structure untenable. It will normally also cover external fittings and fixtures.

The contents of the house are another matter, and these you should protect against loss and damage with contents insurance. The cheapest form of this is indemnity insurance, which will cost you less than the more usual ‘new for old’ policies but will only replace items with those of a similar age and condition. Most people choose ‘new for old’ although it is a bit more costly.

You can add a number of optional extras to the basic policy should you wish, to cover things like burst pipes and accidental damage by yourself as opposed to that inflicted by a third party such as a burglar. These will of course add to the premiums.

Travel insurance will need to be taken out when you go off on holiday, as your possessions will not be protected by the contents insurance.

Take time looking for cheap house insurance before deciding on what suits you.

Not quite as complex as working out life insurance costs, calculating appropriate home contents insurance can still be difficult. Consumer trends in the modern era have resulted in household worth being significantly higher than ever before, and though many homeowners have sought insurance to cover themselves, often it is not enough. Expensive gadgets, art, and top of the range, in-vogue furniture can quickly add up to a significant sum of money. Whilst the damage of only a few objects can easily be covered by house insurance, a devastating event such as fire or flood can claim all family belongings, resulting in a huge financial bill.

It is therefore important that, when seeking home contents insurance, you take the time to consider just how much all the items within your home are worth. Take advantage of the insurance calculators on offer, and make sure that the house insurance quotes you receive are applicable to your content costs and cover needs. Ensuring adequate cover will provide peace of mind that all your valuables are covered, instead of adding to the emotional turmoil should a devastating event occur.