ADDITIONAL CONTENTS INSURANCE COVERS
Be sure to check the extent of the contents insurance cover you are buying even if it is sold as all risks – Many companies charge a an additional premium for these ‘extras’.
Check your policy keyfacts document or policy wording!
The range of Contents insurance additional covers
Contents Insurance companies are constantly changing the range of cover offered by their standard packages, which affects what is included in the price of the basic premium. If the following are not ‘automatically included’ in or ‘built-in’ to the standard package, and you may well need them so select a policy which includes them or buy the cover as an extension to the standard policy – you usually pay extra pay extra:
• Replacement keys and locks if your keys are lost or stolen
• Accidental damage to televisions, hi-fi equipment, computers and videos
• Accidental damage to mirrors, glass-top tables and other furniture containing glass
• Theft of, or damage to, belongings temporarily removed from your home (e.g. things you take with you when visiting friends, or items that your student children take to college)
• Theft of bicycles from your home
• Cover for office equipment (e.g. a computer or fax machine) if you work from home
• Theft of things you usually leave out in the open, such as garden furniture
• Cover for the contents of your freezer if made unfit for human consumption (e.g. following a power cut) – you will not necessarily be covered if you switch the freezer off by accident
• The cost of temporary accommodation if disaster strikes and you are unable to live in your home (which may duplicate cover included in your buildings policy)
• A cash payment if an adult member of your household dies as a result of fire or burglary at your home – not really worth having if all the adult members of your household are covered by life insurance
• Compensation for metered oil and water (e.g. if a pipe was damaged and large amounts of metered water escaped, you would have to pay the water company for the loss)
• Loss or damage to possessions in storage while you move house (if you are not planning to move, this kind of cover is an unnecessary frill and it may duplicate insurance you take out when using a professional removal firm)
• Cover for legal expenses if you are involved in a lawsuit; this may also include access to a legal advice helpline.
• Note most of the above are included in the packages offered by our panel of contents insurance companies, however you should check each level and limit of cover for each quote you get as cover limits are mostly responsible for the variation in premium prices. So when you shop around make sure you are comparing like for like.
Plants and gardens
As part of your possessions, house plants and their pots should be covered by a contents policy. However, it is very unlikely that plants growing in the garden, unsecured window boxes and other plant life outside the house will be covered by a standard policy. If you want to insure things left out in the open – including expensive terracotta pots, garden furniture and other garden ornaments – check whether your insurance covers you and ask your contents insurer to extend your cover if necessary.