Insuring The Contents Of Your Home

By Author: Marcus Stalder
Total Articles: 491
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When people start thinking about insuring their home, most focus on the structure. This is the big item in which most of their capital is tied up and mortgage holders are always on your back to keep the valuation up to date. You wake up in the night, still sweating from the nightmares about tornados and floods of Biblical proportions. So whether you are one of those lurking in one of the developments in the exurbs or sitting in a condo, you are talking to builder about how much it might cost to replace what nature has taken away. All of which is good as far as it goes. But what happens when the walls rise and the roof is back in place? What goes inside?

You live in your own home taking everything for granted. You reach in a closet and there are clothes. Electrical goods make your life convenient and furniture makes it comfortable. If you have lived in the same place for years, there may be generations of "stuff" from the toys you never got around to throwing out when the kids grew up to the jewelry your aunt gave you before she died. Odds are you probably don't know exactly what you have. How often do you really look ...
... in your garage unless it's to sigh heavily and think about organizing a sale to dispose of all the junk?

So why worry? Well, recent surveys suggest large numbers of homeowners underinsure their contents. If the structure is seriously damaged, you may well find the amount you have included for replacing even the basics is inadequate. When you make up lists, most focus on all the more expensive items they think are likely to get stolen. This is the tip of the iceberg. The only way to get a comprehensive valuation is to do a walk-through. Start in whichever room and then move systematically through all the rest making a list of all you can see. Remember, you are not allowed to make a profit from a disaster unless you have bought a top-of-the-range policy. The general rule is you replace like for like unless you have a new-for-old policy, i.e. you are looking at secondhand values. Of course, some of your property may have become collectible. You only have to look at eBay to see the prices some people are willing to pay for 1960's LPs or paperbacks in fine condition. If you are lucky, you should make a proper inventory of all the more valuable items and have that list attached to the policy. This may all take time and require research. Just how much will it cost to replace carpets, curtains and all that bed linen?

All you need is a little discipline to get home insurance working properly to protect you. Once you have a good idea of what you have and what the replacement costs are likely to be, you should revalue the policy. In most cases, the additional premiums are not that significant. Home insurance is designed to replace what you have lost so you can have a home again. That's worth paying for.