Contents Insurance: Guide, Coverage, Costs, Quotes
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Generally speaking, contents insurance provides financial protection in case your possessions are stolen, lost or damaged due to theft, fire, smoke or water. But some policies offer add-ons like legal/liability cover, home emergency cover and accidental cover. Considering the cost of a contents insurance policy with £50,000 of coverage averages only £110 per year, contents insurance is certainly a sensible investment.
Use this guide to learn about coverage levels, standard exclusions, and other ins and outs of contents insurance policies, to help you decide what features you need for your individual situation. All policies offer different coverage so be sure to read the policy wording before you buy. You can also learn more about leading providers in our article about the best, cheap home insurance providers.
While winter is arguably the best time of year to ensure you have coverage to protect against theft (burglaries rise 23% around the Christmas holidays, anytime is a good time to invest in contents insurance.
What is Contents Insurance?
Contents insurance is useful for both renters and home owners, as it protects the things you would take with you when you move. (Buildings insurance, on the other hand, is only for home owners and covers the property itself—roof, walls, fitted units, flooring, outbuilding, etc.)
Do I need contents insurance as a tenant?
Yes, you most certainly do need contents insurance as a tenant. Without it, you won't get any reimbursement if your belongings are lost or damaged in a theft, attempted theft, fire, floor or more. Your landlord's contents and buildings insurance won't protect your belongings in most cases. (However, your landlord's public liability insurance, aka landlord liability insurance, might cover your possessions if they're damaged due to negligence on the landlord's part.)
What Does Contents Insurance Cover?
While policies differ from insurer to insurer, contents insurance typically provides reimbursement for loss or damage that result from theft, fire, water and smoke. In addition to these standard features, extra cover can be purchased as an add on (or may be included in premium policies).
Standard Cover
- Fire
- Theft
- Smoke
- Flood
Optional Cover
- Accidental Loss/Damage (e.g., red wine spill on carpet)
- Legal (e.g., court costs)
- Home Emergency (e.g., plumbing & heating emergencies)
- Valuables (this may be an extra cost, especially for valuables worth over a certain amount)
While a basic policy is surely better protection than no insurance, you may want to consider springing for some add-on features. According to Hiscox, 1 in 6 of the paid claims resulted from Accidental Loss over the past three years. Accidental loss can cover, for instance, a wedding ring that slipped off your finger, leaving a bag on a bus or spilling paint on the carpet. However, a top tip for saving money on home insurance is to not buy extra features you don't really need.
Similarly, 1 in 5 Hiscox claims over the past three years was due to Accidental Damage. Accidental damage might occur, for example, when a vase, mirror, or glass coffee table is broken.
Equally, Home Emergency Cover can be a valuable add on, especially in the winter months. Typically covered would be blocked drains and toilets, heating, leaking roof, gas/electric failure, burst pipe and lost house keys.
How soon can you claim on contents insurance?
Check your policy documents, but most contents insurance policies cover events that occurred during the period of insurance. This probably won't start the same day as a policy is purchased, to avoid people buying insurance on the same day as a disaster occurs.
Contents Insurance for These Possessions
Let's say you've been the unfortunate victim of a burglary, fire or flood—what will contents insurance pay for? Roughly speaking, contents insurance will reimburse you for the loss or damage of items that you would take with you when you move.
Contents Insurance Typically Covers:
- furniture
- clothes, shoes and accessories
- electrical items (computers, tablets, mobile phones etc.)
- money
- jewelry
- paintings, pictures and sculptures
- carpets and curtains
- bicycles
- plants in the garden
- freezer food
Other Features
Many contents insurance policies also give you funds for temporary accommodations/rent should your home become uninhabitable due to an approved claim (e.g., fire or flood). For example, in the case of a house fire your policy might provide up to £15,000 for alternative accommodation.
Types of Policies
There are two types of contents insurance cover to choose between: new for old and old for old.
| Policy Type | Payout |
|---|---|
| New for Old | You'll get the replacement cost of lost/damaged items (except that reimbursement for clothes may be reduced for wear and tear) |
| Old for Old/Indemnity Cover | You'll get the current value of your possessions, which may be significantly less than the replacement value. |
Premiums are likely to be lower on an "old for old" (also called "like for like") policy since pay outs would be less than on a "new for old" policy. Be sure to check what you're being offered when you shop for contents insurance—a cheaper policy isn't necessarily good value.
How Much Contents Insurance Should I Get?
Contents insurance policy limits can range from £30,000 to £100,000, or more. Common advice is to go room by room through your home and add up the cost of your possessions. It is important to state the value of your goods accurately, or future claims could be reduced by the proportion by which you have under insured. For example, if you under insure your £100,000 worth of possessions for only £50,000, then a home stereo system worth £5,000 may only be covered for £2,500 in the case of theft.
Standard Cover Levels
Coverage levels vary by insurance company and policy type, but the following levels of coverage are quite common:
| Category | Typical Coverage Limits |
|---|---|
| Contents | £50,000 |
| Away from home | £5,000 |
| Theft from outbuildings | £2,500 |
Buying a policy with a higher limit may cost more, especially once you reach £100,000 of cover. The average cost of contents insurance rises around 60% for policies with £100,000 of cover vs. policies with around £50k - £75 of cover.
Limit for High-Value Items
Most policies impose maximum limits on valuables like art, jewelry and watches—both per-item limits and a total valuables limit. Often, consumers have the option to customize a contents insurance quote/policy by adjusting the valuables cover, so it's important to take stock of your valuables before purchasing an insurance policy.
Items worth over a certain amount (e.g., £2,000) may need to be listed separately. And it's a good idea to keep a copy of your receipt or a recent valuation in case you need to claim.
Are Bikes Covered by Home Contents Insurance?
As bikes can be quite valuable and are not infrequently stolen, they tend to be treated differently from other possessions when it comes to contents insurance. In some cases, bikes are included in a contents policy, up to a limit. Other policies do not cover bikes at all, or offer bike cover at an additional cost.
Depending on the level of cover (e.g., £1,000 for one bike only, or £1,000/per bike up to £5,000 for all bikes), adding on bikes to your contents insurance can easily cost between £30 and £115 per year.
Insuring Portable Devices like Mobile Phones, Laptops, etc.
Many policies extend contents cover to insure your portable possessions while they're temporarily away from the home. Limits may be imposed by value (e.g., £5,000 total or £1,500 per item), geography (e.g., British Isles only) or time (e.g., limited to 60 days away from home). If you frequently travel abroad you may want a contents policy that offers worldwide coverage.
"Away from home" cover typically protects against theft of a device (e.g., phone, watch, or laptop) but not damage to it. Digital information, such as downloaded movies or songs, may not be covered either.
Cover for University Students
"Away from home cover" may cover your child's possessions, if he/she is away at university. Be aware that claims may only be covered in the case of violence or force being used to enter the building—contents insurance wouldn't cover the theft of a laptop during a house party, for instance. You can find information on cover for university students in the policy wording of most insurance policies.
Standard Exclusions
There are many type of claims that won't be covered under a standard, basic contents insurance policy. Below is a list of common exclusions:
- Damage due to pets
- Bikes
- Valuables over a certain limit
- Accidental damage (portable devices like laptops, mobile phones)
- Criminal or intentional loss or damage caused by you, your family or a tenant.
- Moths, vermin, woodworm, fungus, insects, rot, etc.
- Faulty workmanship, materials or design
- Deterioration, lack of home maintenance, etc.
- War, acts of terrorism, deliberate acts of the government
- Theft or some damage if your home isn't lived in for 60 days or more in a row
This list is certainly not exhaustive. Exclusions vary considerably by policy and insurer, so we recommend reading the Policy Wording before you buy any contents insurance policy. Researching the exclusions is important, but don't let them put you off of buying a policy altogether—contents insurance can protect you against potentially devastating financial loss should the worst happen. If you're looking for home insurance, you may want to browse through our top picks for best home insurance companies.
In addition to buying contents insurance to protect your belongings, read about 6 quick tips you can follow to help protect your home from burglars.
FAQs
Given the relatively cheap cost of contents insurance, and the significant financial burden with replacing clothing, kitchenware, books, electronics, furniture, jewellery and more after a disaster like a fire or theft, most people would agree that contents insurance is most definitely worth it. Ask anyone who's suffered one of the unfortunate events.
No, contents insurance doesn't cover fixtures and fittings; instead these are covered under a property owner's buildings insurance. Contents insurance covers things you can take with you if you move house, and fixtures and fittings (e.g. fitted kitchen, bathroom suite, doors, light fixtures, etc.) typically stay with the house, so they're treated as part of the building.
Contents insurance can cover accidental damage, but it doesn't always. Sometimes accidental damage cover is included as standard, but many insurers offer this as an add-on feature for which you'll need to pay an extra premium. Learn more about the costs of contents accidental damage here.
Contents insurance is important for renters to buy, because otherwise their belongings will not be covered if they're lost or damaged in case of events like fire, flood and theft.
Yes, contents insurance should cover fire as standard; check your policy documents to be sure.
A voluntary excess in contents insurance is when you choose an excess on a policy. A higher excess usually results in a cheaper premium, but on the other hand, a policyholder has less protection in case of a claim.
According to NimbleFins research, contents insurance with £50,000 of protections starts from around £56 a year, but most people pay around 2X as much. Read more about the costs here.