Home
buildings and contents insurance renewal tips
Points to consider before
renewing with your current contents insurance
provider
Every year, most people
renew their home contents insurance with their
current insurer, not realising that they could
probably benefit from a superior level of
home insurance cover at little, if any, extra
cost.
Whilst home and contents
insurance is often seen by the customer as
'all the same' and therefore not varying in
quality from one insurer to another, this
is by no means the case. It is well worth
you thinking about some key points and considering
whether you've chosen the best insurer for
your cover needs. Here are some of the main
issues for you to consider.
1. Claiming Service
: Insurance is a strange product.
You pay the insurer up-front in the hope that
when something goes wrong in the future they
will compensate you for your losses under
the terms of the policy. A claims service
which is fast, efficient and takes the stress
out of any claim situation is very important.
The major problem here is knowing who manages
and pays claims in this manner and who the
culprits are that give Insurance companies
claims handling services a bad press.
Fortunately
you can be assured that only companies with
excellent records for paying home insurance
claims in a fair and efficient manner are recommended on this website.
2. Limits to cover
: Most insurance policies will cover
you for a specified list of events (fire,
explosion, theft, storm flood etc), but very
few give full accidental loss and damage cover
as standard. This may well be available as
an additional bolt on to the opolicy for a
price, so it is well worth checking the cover
limits before you buy home insurance.
3. Where are you
covered? : Insurance policies usually
clearly define where your possessions are
covered, known as the geographical limits
of cover. Many restrict cover to 'in the home'
only, others have restrictive cover once items
are taken outside the home and only a few
provide comprehensive cover anywhere in the
world. The top of the range cover is usually
referred to as 'world-wide all-risks'. This
may well be covered under an optional section
of the policy, called personal possessions
away from the home, as the term all risks
is not widely used anymore.
4. Security :
All home
insurance policies nowadays will insist
on a minimum standard of window and door locks.
Depending on your sums insured and where you
live, you may also be asked to fit an alarm.
The key thing to watch out for is that most
insurers insist that your security is fully
put into operation every time you leave the
house or go to bed at night. Others are more
relaxed and whilst asking for security, will
be more flexible in the way you use your security.
Always read the policy wording as you could
find thast you are not covered if you have
an alarm fitted and it was not on at the time
of a break in for example.
5. Valuable items
: If you have a decent level of jewellery,
watches, fine art, antiques or collections
then you are probably going to be asked to
specify individual items over a certain amount
(£1,000 - £1500) and occasionally
to provide recent valuations upfront. A few
insurers take a more lenient view and will
insure these items under your home insurance
policy without this hassle.
6. Theft : Check
your policy to see the level of cover given
for theft outside of your home. Some insurers
will only pay a claim if 'forcible and violent
entry to or exit from a building' is involved.
Others will provide wider cover for any theft
and will include cover up to a certain limit
for goods and possessions left in gardens
and sheds, or possessions such as clothes
that you may take with you worldwide.
7. Individual cover
limits: Always check your policy
for limits imposed on the cover. For example,
theft of money, garden equipment, liability,
losses from outbuildings and pedal cycles
etc . These limits not only vary widely between
insurers, but some may not provide any cover
at all undervsome policies.
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