IT is very easy to compare contents insurance and providing you are honest and know the value of your possessions then you can get a quote and be insured at a cost-effective price in minutes.
The secret here is preparation. You need to know what you own and have an idea of what it’s worth. There is no excuse for forgetting something very valuable and then trying to appeal to the insurer’s better nature in a claim because you’ll find the better nature is not forgiving. And besides it is not feasible that you might have forgotten the £5000 diamond ring or £4000 Rolex – these are the things you really need insurance for.
By reducing the items at risk and overall value you can get in most cases a slightly lower insurance quote but it is pennies and pounds compared to the risk of losing thousands in a claim, so do the right thing, don’t try to be smart and insure properly. There is absolutely no value in having the wrong insurance in place; it is a waste of time even if you feel good about buying it for very little money, that’s you fooling yourself.
So make sure you have listed everything of significant value – by this I mean anything over £1000 (over £500 if you are nervous). Take pictures and keep receipts if you can – or in the case of jewellery get an insurance replacement value from the shop you bought the item.
If you are like me you probably have very few things worth more than £1000 in the house so this is not a big job.
Next you evaluate how much general contents you have in the house. How much to replace all carpets, curtains, sofas, TVs, computers etc. Without getting quotes from providers it is difficult to guess but using common sense helps. I would take a typical room, say the living room. There is probably a telly, music system, coffee table, several sofas, large carpet and curtains, decorations on the wall, maybe some blinds, lights etc. If that room to replace would cost say £3000 then you have a base. If you have 10 rooms some with more contents than others then you can multiply by 10 and guess at around £30,000 cover needed. Just make sure you account for the real valuable things as well that are over £1000.
Once you are comfortable with the total insurance you need then you can go online to any of the price comparison sites and go through the online question form. It’ll take less than 10-minutes typically and you will get a list of prices. Just make sure your excess (the payment you make in the event of a loss) is what you want (or as low as possible). That is the first step in comparing prices – but there is one more if you want to ensure the best price – repeat the process with The Property Insurer.
Whichever quote from these two sources is the cheapest (providing excess is similar) is likely to be as cheap as you will get as you will have price compared the general and specialist property insurance markets. You can normally buy online at the same time so it is easy to get cover.
That’s how you compare contents insurance and all you will need is 15-minutes start to finish providing you know how much your contents are worth.
Jason McClean
The Property Insurer
