Here we explain in a little more detail the insurance clauses to look out for when deciding on your next policy, so you can understand what is, and more importantly what isn't covered on your home insurance quotation.

Level of Cover

Having the right level of contents cover is absolutely essential.

Your home and contents are almost certainly your single most valuable asset. Much of us spend huge amounts of time and money decorating and furnishing our homes, as well as buying ornaments and electrical goods. But how many of us really know how much it would cost to replace? And what does it really matter in any case….. £16,000 (the average sum insured under a contents policy) should cover it? Shouldn't it?

Sadly not. A recent survey cited by an industry trade magazine suggests that 36% of Contents policyholders are under-insured. One possible reason for this, is the rapid increase in electrical equipment in our homes. Whatever the reason, most insurers now recommend that you are covered for a minimum of £20,000.

It is very important to get this figure right. If you are under insured, a lot of companies will reduce the amount they pay out in the event of a claim.

How they react in such circumstances varies enormously from one to the other though, so beware. For instance if you are underinsured by say 50% and you were claiming £700 for a replacement TV, you may only get £350 back!

Accidental Damage

Some policies cover it, others don’t. Depending on how likely you are to ‘accidentally’ damage things, this may or may not be important to you.

Food for Thought - if your adorable child, or favourite nephew decides to practice drinking blackcurrant juice on your new sofa and spills it everywhere, would you want to be covered or not…….?

It is definitely worth checking your policy wording to see if you are covered.

New for Old

This is exactly what it says. Basically, if you make a claim, the insurer will either replace the item, or offer you a cash equivalent. This is sometimes offered as an ‘extra’, although increasingly it is standard. Again, it’s worth checking the detail and ask if you’re unsure.

If you don’t have "new for old" then the insurer will tend to give the replacement value of the item, minus wear and tear.

This may not seem important when asking for a quote (one way insurers reduce the premiums), but if you were to be burgled and make a large claim, would you be able to make your home look as beautiful, without the true replacement value of the goods lost?

Single Item Limits

One area where policies can vary enormously is in their treatment of personal possessions.

The more valuables you have, whether taken out of the home or not, the more time you should focus on this part of the policy.

Most things are covered whilst in the home, but do check your policy as some insurers still have a limit on the value of any one single item.

It is much more common that insurers will only operate such a policy, if items are taken out of the home. In these circumstances, they will only cover personal possessions, up to a specified limit. This will either be expressed as a percentage of the total sum insured, or an absolute amount.

As you might imagine, these limits vary enormously and can be quite low. It could be as low as £600. How many things do you have in doors, which are worth over £600? For example, how much would this computer cost to replace (assuming you’re at home)?

Single-item Limits are expensive for insurance companies to administer and so they are tending to raise the limits every year. However, it’s not worth being complacent and finishing up under-insured. Each insurer treats this aspect of their policy differently, so check the "rules" now and then on every renewal.

It’s also well worth using our Home Contents Audit to check out what you’ve got, what they’d cost to replace and make any changes to your policy. And remember, if you buy something new, which is over the limit – call your insurance company as soon as possible.

All Risks

All-Risks is a good catch-all type of policy, as it does exactly that. A policy of this type will have extensive geographical coverage for your possessions, as well as tending to cover old for new and accidental damage.

They tend to be slightly more expensive than those with masses of exclusions. But you pay for what you get and if you’ve been scrolling through the areas above, you will probably by now, look for one of these!

If you already know what you're looking for, you can skip straight to our featured insurance companies, or search the insurance directory directly to find the right insurer for you.