How Robust Is Your Home Insurance Cover?

Make sure that you are not one of the many people who are out of pocket each year because they took out home insurance cover that did not meet their needs.

For example, 1 in 3 get burgled and yet estimates show that over 20% of all household goods are not covered by your home insurance; equally accidents such as flood damage are increasingly common – the question is, are your home and possessions covered?
What does your policy cover?
A standard policy should cover: flood and storm damage; fire, smoke and explosions; subsidence and third party damage.
Does your policy cover the market value of your property or full rebuilding costs?
The market value of your home could be considerably lower than the rebuilding costs – especially in the case of listed buildings. English Heritage require that if more than 40% of the historic structure of a property has survived you need to restore the whole property – given the building restrictions on listed buildings, that could be very expensive.
Are accommodation costs included if your home is uninhabitable?
The last thing you need in the event that your home becomes uninhabitable is the added emotional and financial strain of having to pay for temporary accommodation while the status quo is brought back in line?
Home contents
If you are a tenant does your landlord have contents insurance?
While landlords are required to have building insurance, they may not have contents insurance or it may be limited – if you are a tenant you may require your own policy.
What is the replacement policy?
The most basic level of cover is indemnity insurance, which replaces like for like – if your TV is 3 years old you can claim for the value of a 3-year old TV. Some insurance policies replace new for old, so regardless of the age you will get a new item.

Does your policy cover items that you take away from your home?
Some policies cover any items that you take away from home such as watches, jewellery – think about how much the contents of your handbag, or your car etc are worth, particularly if you use a laptop.
Is your garden covered?
Many people have a great deal of money invested in their gardens from expensive plants and features to gardening equipment stored in the shed – make sure your policy covers this area.
Make sure you insure for the right value
One of the major mistakes people make with their home insurance policy is to underinsure - write a checklist of every item in your home to ensure you have insured for the right amount. You also need to ensure high value items are covered – most policies set a maximum value on individual items.
Don't be one of those people who fail to keep a policy up to date as your circumstances and possessions change – make sure that your policy covers you for that diamond solitaire engagement ring, the new 42 inch plasma TV and any other expensive purchase that you may acquire over time.
Have you made reasonable efforts to install any of the security measures available today?
A common reason for claims not being paid is that policyholders failed to implement security measures required by the policy – make sure you comply with the terms of the policy.
One final piece of advice is: NEVER ASSUME THAT ITEMS ARE COVERED – if you are unsure, always check your policy.