Tips On How To Arrange Cheaper Home Contents And Buildings Insurance
Unclaimed Home Contents and Buildings Insurance Claims
In the past, it has been common for property owners to overlook their home contents insurance, believing that they are covered by their buildings insurance or through other means.
However, with recent changes in legislation regarding unclaimed contents and buildings insurance claims, this is not always the case anymore.
This blog post will give you some tips on how to arrange cheaper home contents and buildings insurance in order to be fully covered against all possibilities.
Home Contents Insurance
Before we discuss the main changes that occurred with regards to unclaimed home contents insurance, it is important to understand how home contents insurance works.
Home contents cover is usually bought at the same time as your buildings and contents insurance, so it is not uncommon for homeowners to not realise that their home contents policy does not cover them in any way.
The first thing missing from the policy is usually the word "Contents". This means that it does not include any goods left in your house such as items in cupboards, wardrobes or drawers.
However, there are some more detailed aspects of the coverage you should keep in mind when buying a policy for your home contents items. There are four different kinds of contents insurance, each being responsible for specific contents:
A standard contents policy is a very common policy type and covers any goods that are left in your home when you hand it over to the next owner.
As there is no limit on the amount of money you can insure, it is quite expensive – almost double the cost of an average building insurance policy.
This type of policy usually does not include personal items such as clothes or paintings.
However, if you rent out a room in your home this form of premium will cover damage to just that room, but not any damage to fixtures and fittings such as mirrors or light fittings.
If this is the type of policy you are interested in, make sure there is a maximum amount you are willing to insure so that it does not go over your limit.
This covers items left with you after handing over the house to another person and protects them up to a certain value.
The maximum covered value is set by law. There are no limits on the amount of money that can be insured for each property covered by a standard home contents policy.
However, if you have expensive items such as antiques or jewellery, these will only be covered up to their actual market value rather than the actual cost of the item.
The reason for this is that these items can be more expensive to replace than the value of the policy itself, which means that there would be a possibility of having to pay more out-of-pocket to replace them.
If you have antiques and similar valuables, it would be better to look into other types of insurance policies than standard home contents.
Avoid Insurance Scams!
There are scammers out there who will try and trick you by promising cheaper home contents cover in exchange for your details.
So make sure that you are not being pressured into buying any home contents cover simply because it is cheaper than a typical building and contents policy.
Even if you decide to go with a different kind of policy, make sure you check the policy thoroughly before handing your details over.
Home Building Insurance
Arguably just as important as home contents, the homeowner should also take out insurance for their property itself and not just their belongings.
Many homeowners get insurance for their home without taking out insurance for their land.
However, if you have a mortgage, it is essential to ensure that your land is insured so that you do not lose your home if it has to be demolished.
Once again, building insurance comes in various forms, each covering specific parts of the property:
This is the most basic form of insurance and covers the actual structure of a building such as the walls or roof.
It also covers any fixtures and fittings which are permanently attached to these structures.
A typical policy will cover things like new roofs or replacement windows and doors but will not cover any items that are portable like curtains or kitchen appliances.
In the past, it was common for homeowners to take out this kind of policy as it was the most cost-effective way to include both home contents and building insurance in one policy.
However, recent changes in legislation have meant that you can no longer insure your contents against damage done by your property. This means that this is no longer an option if you want to protect your belongings and assets.
If you want to protect your belongings from damage done by your building itself, then you should look into other kinds of insurance policies or choose a different home building company altogether.
This form of cover protects against natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods.
Natural disasters are not covered by the standard home insurance policy, but you might be able to take out extra cover if you have an existing home contents policy.
You can discuss this with your insurer and find out whether your contents policy already covers natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes, or whether you need to upgrade to a more comprehensive policy.
If there is no cover for natural disasters, it is possible to add it as an extra premium because most companies do offer this kind of additional cover nowadays.
While it may seem obvious that a home will not be damaged by its own foundations, underground water or rocks on the property can still cause damage over time.
This includes water that seeps up through the ground or through your walls and structures.
In exchange for the extra premium which is added to your policy, this covers any damage caused by these hazards.
You do not have to worry about water pipes bursting inside the house because this kind of damage is covered under your contents insurance.
This type of cover protects against an accidental fire that happens within a building. This can include fires caused by electrical faults, oil burners, gas appliances and similar accidents.
It excludes damage done by other hazards such as smoke or soot which are covered under different sections of the policy.
Conclusion
Home contents insurance is a valuable cover to have when you purchase your home.
However, the amount of protection is limited so it is important to read through all of the terms of the policy before deciding which choices are available to you.
If you are looking for a cheap home insurance policy, then it would be wise to look into additional types of cover such as contents and building insurance.
Once you have taken out an appropriate kind of cover, make sure that it is reviewed regularly in line with any changes which are made to legislation or legislation otherwise.
This will ensure that your home owners policy remains valid and up-to-date.