How Much Insurance Cover Should You Have?

How much should you insure your possessions for? It’s a tricky question, since too low means you wouldn’t be able to replace everything if you made a claim, while too much means you’re wasting money on the premiums, and the Loss Adjuster will require the correct valuation when you claim. What you need is just enough cover.

In addition to the basic cover, contents insurance providers offer various add-ons. Perhaps the most important of these is Accidental Cover, which we’d advise taking up, while other extras like Legal Cover and Home Emergency Cover depend on the circumstances. If you’ve done the sensible thing and gone through an insurance broker, they’ll advise you on these.

Valuing Your Possessions

So how do you get an accurate valuation of your possessions? It’s a laborious job, but you only have to do it once. Just go from room to room putting each item and its value on a spreadsheet, not forgetting those obscure items (bike, barbecue, exercise equipment) that you used once or twice and stuck in the shed or attic.

You’ll be surprised how much it all adds up to — and the good news is that, once you’ve done it, you’ll only need to add new items as you get them.

For anything regarded as high-value by Insurers, you’ll need to make up a second spreadsheet. Anything worth more than the Insurer’s high-risk single item value must be itemised in the insurance policy, or the Loss Adjuster will refuse to pay out on a claim for those items.

Getting Your Possessions Valued for Contents Insurance

Do you know the value of the possessions you have in your home? If you’re like most of us, probably not, which is why so many people are shocked when they make an insurance claim to replace their possessions after major damage to their home.

So why do we lose perspective over the value of what’s in our home? This is partly because we typically amass our possessions over a long period of time. Even if we’re among the rare people who’ve kept the receipts, we don’t usually keep up with price increases. The replacement cost may be a good deal more than the original price.

And that’s if we’ve actually bought the item. If it was a gift or an inheritance, we don’t usually think about finding out the insurable value.

It helps to have a photograph of the item if its value isn’t known, but a genuine valuation is better. The Insurer usually stipulates an upper limit that can be paid for any individual item, unless its value has been specified in the policy documents. If an item isn’t listed, you may not receive its full replacement cost.

When you’re taking out a contents insurance policy, make sure it includes a list of what’s being covered, including items you may not expect to count as contents, such as flooring and carpets. The Insurer’s Loss Adjuster will always ask for a complete list of damaged or missing items when you make a claim.