Did you know the typical UK household undervalues the amount its contents are worth by approximately £14,000? That’s according to figures published by More Than last year, which estimates possessions stored in UK homes are worth an average of £35,414 per property.
So, with that in mind, do you think your contents are insured for what they’re worth? If not, have you considered high-value home insurance? You might just find it’s a good idea to consider this kind of policy.
Basic policies – what do they cover?
The first thing to do, though, is work out whether a basic home contents insurance policy will do the job for you. As a general rule, any items you would take with you when you move out of your home are covered under your contents insurance. Furniture, TVs, clothes, kitchen appliances and jewellery are just a few of the many possessions that are protected.
In most cases, your insurer will cover you for events like fire, theft, vandalism, earthquakes and flooding – but read the small print. In some areas that are prone to flooding, for instance, you won’t get cover for this eventuality.
You should also bear in mind that many policies will place a limit on the amount they’ll pay out on a single item, which might be a problem if you have any high-value jewellery, art or antiques in your house.
High-value insurance – what does it protect?
High-value home insurance is a more specialised product – and one that you should seriously consider if you have any valuable items in your house.
It might be paintings, antiques, expensive wine or jewellery – it doesn’t really matter, as long as you find an insurer that will cover the actual value of your possessions. One of the biggest bonuses of choosing this kind of policy is that you’ll get an accurate valuation of your things – which may even make your insurance cheaper.
You’ll only be paying for what you need, rather than getting a one-size-fits-all policy from your home insurer. Another advantage is that the amount you get for a particular item won’t be limited – you’ll receive what it’s worth, according to the insurer’s valuation.
Don’t just set up a policy and forget about it for the next five years, though. Values change, so make sure you regularly update your policy to reflect this. Look at gold, for example. Last year, Churchill highlighted the rising value of the precious metal, noting its worth had climbed by nearly 300 per cent in the five years from July 2019 to the same month in 2023.
If you don’t take things like that into account, you could find you’re seriously out of pocket should anything happen to your home or any of your possessions get stolen.
Added extras
Are you beginning to be won over by the benefits of high-value contents insurance? Well, the additional cover you get with this kind of product – that’s unlikely to be available through a bog-standard policy – might just convince you.
Worldwide protection for items you may travel with – like jewellery – could be a lifesaver if you lose anything while you’re on holiday or out of the country on business. Your policy might even cover your money and credit cards while you’re travelling, too.
Got kids going to university? Well, you’ll probably be able to put their contents at their halls on your insurance policy, so they won’t have to worry about a thing when they move out to start their studies.
As with any insurance policy, you need to read the small print and shop around, but once you start looking, you may just find high-value cover is more worthwhile than you first thought!
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