Many of us would never like to think of our possessions being stolen or damaged but these occurrences can sneak up on us and without cover we can be left out of pocket.
Last year, thousands of British homes were affected by [easyazon-link asin=”B005RKVR3C” locale=”us”]Floods[/easyazon-link] as persistent rain made rivers burst their banks.[easyazon-image align=”right” asin=”B004W42USU” locale=”us” height=”160″ src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/71YMHI6dCOL._SL160_.png” width=”160″]
Also, while we’d hope that [easyazon-link asin=”1453732039″ locale=”us”]burglary or theft[/easyazon-link] wouldn’t happen to us, it is all too common as most thieves are opportunists and will strike hard and fast. Would you be able to afford replacing laptops, watches and jewellery? When you’re already shaken from a burglary and feeling like a stranger in your own home, not having cover for your contents could make the situation much worse.
So how do you find a decent contents insurance policy? Here’s some advice:
- Contents insurance is usually sold ‘as new’ or ‘new for old’ which means that if something is damaged they will pay for full repair and if it is stolen they will offer the money for the equivalent new item.
- You may think you can risk not taking out contents insurance but accidents, damage and theft will usually always happen to you at the times you’re least prepared and expect. Ensure you take out contents insurance at the earliest opportunity and leave as little time as possible where you are uncovered.
- When you take out contents insurance, be sure to insure for the true value of all your contents and don’t be tempted to scrimp on your policy. You don’t want to be out of pocket should you need to claim. Should mass damage happen to your home, you could be thousands of pounds out of pocket if your contents value limit is too low.
- Look into additional cover, this will usually cover for accidental damage as well so you’ll be covered if you accidentally damage anything yourself.
- Don’t ever be tempted to lie if you make a claim on your home insurance, this is illegal and could invalidate your policy if you are found out.
- It may be cheaper to get your contents and building insurance from the same [easyazon-link asin=”0470464682″ locale=”us”]Insurance providers[/easyazon-link]. So look into taking these both out at the same time.
- Taking prevention against damage and theft towards your home will help drive down your insurance premiums so think about installing high quality locks, burglar alarms, smoke alarms and enrolling in your local neighbourhood watch scheme.
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Ben Austin is CEO of comparison site, Cost.co.uk, which allows users to compare deals on home insurance, pet insurance, travel insurance and much more.