Contents Insurance UK -What is Covered?
All contents insurance policies are slightly different in the range of perils that are on offer. However they all follow a fairly similar range of perils as listed below. Remember that under Contents you should insure pretty much everything that is in your Home (Anything you would take with you if you left the property for good). The main perils are:
- Fire, explosion, lightning, earthquake, impact by aircraft road vehicle or animal
- Theft or attempted theft
- Leakage of oil
- Leakage of water from a fixed central heating system or from fixed appliances
- Riot or civil commotion
- Storm tempest or flood
- Falling trees or aerials
- Subsidence heave or landslip
- Loss of rent or alternative accommodation following damage caused to contents
- Accidental damage to fixed glass in furniture or ceramic hobs or to sound reproducing equipment, televisions, videos, CD players etc
- Cover for Damage caused by the tenant is sometimes covered
- Contents away from the home on a temporary basis (whilst at work or in a Hotel), the cover is quite restricted and All Risks cover should be considered if you have valuable items
- Occupiers Liability covers (for further details see our liability article)
Options – in addition to the above you have a couple of options for additional covers.
- Accidental Damage – this extends the policy cover to include breakages in the Home. This is a fairly standard option and extends the cover to all other items. It is usually fairly inexpensive
- All Risks – this extends cover to include items taken out of the home and will include accidental breakage and loss cover. You may choose to have cover on a specified or unspecified basis
As well as the above and depending on your needs, you may be able to add sections to your cover. Some of the options available are. Annual Travel Insurance (usually for the whole family). Small Craft Insurance, Personal Accident Insurance. One worthwhile addition to any contents insurance policy is Family Legal Expenses cover, this is usually fairly cheap and cover can include, Employment disputes, Domestic matters ( problems with your neighbours and consumer disputes. Most insurers will want confirmation that all of your contents are only used for personal usage, if you run a business at home, this will need to be declared and it may affect your premium, business equipment is not normally covered and if you work at home in any capacity, this will also need to be declared.
Typical Exclusions– as with building insurance, there are a number of exclusions under a Contents Insurance Policy and this document should be studied carefully. As mentioned in our article on claims, most insurers now offer new for old cover in respect of this type of insurance. It must be remembered though that it is not normal to have new for old cover on clothing, there will be a few other exclusions and again your policy document should be studies carefully.
- Cars, Motorcycles, caravan & trailers, documents, livestock
- Losses if the home is unoccupied for a period of time ( usually in excess of 30 days)
- Theft of Money unless in involves forcible or violent entry to the property
- Rot, vermin, insects, fungus, corrosion
- Mechanical or electrical breakdown
- War, Terrorism, revolution, Civil War
- Sonic Booms
- Radioactive contamination
For a Home Insurance Quote contact Assetsure. We are able to offer insurance for a wide range of Uk property types including nonstandard construction
