This disaster will cancel out Christmas

Don't get left out of pocket if your brand new Christmas prezzie gets lost, stolen or broken...

It’s Friday night. You’re down the local having a few celebratory drinks and showing off your brand new Christmas mobile phone to your friends when disaster strikes.

You go to put the phone back in your pocket but miss the opening in your jeans – SMASH! Your top of the range smartphone crashes against the tiled floor and the screen goes flying across the pub.

“You’ve got insurance, right?” one of your friends mutters... you haven’t.

It’s bad enough when an expensive piece of kit gets lost, broken or stolen. But if it’s also your prized Christmas present, the heartache is even worse.

So to help you protect all of your new Christmas gadgets here’s my top tips on insuring expensive items...

Contents insurance

You should have a comprehensive home insurance policy in place all year round to protect against burglary, flooding and any other household disaster.

But if Santa has been particularly generous to your household this Christmas then it’s worth checking your existing policy to make sure you’ve got enough cover.

A new TV or sofa or the kids new laptop, games console or smart phone could push the value of your household contents above your current limit.

If you’re unsure of the exact value of your contents it may be worth taking out insurance that offers unlimited cover. But it’s worth remembering that unlimited cover often carries a single item limit (usually around £1,500) – so if you own anything pricier than this, make sure you tell your insurer.

When insuring your home for an exact amount make sure you specify what everything is worth. Rough estimates or haphazard adding up could see you end up under-insured.

And remember, if you’ve just sent your little darling back to uni with his or her brand new laptop, you should ensure they have a suitable policy of their own in place - your existing home insurer will not cover them when they are living away from home.

For more advice on home insurance read Protect your home against flooding.

Personal possession insurance

As we reported in Make sure your home insurance covers this! the average UK adult carries £972 worth of belongings around with them.* This makes us prime targets for muggers eager to get their grubby hands on our phones and wallets.

So it’s important to make sure that your home insurance policy covers all of your items, wherever you are.

Some insurers may also require you to specify individual, valuable items that you have on your person at all times – for example; expensive jewellery, smartphones, iPods or cameras. Check the small print of your policy and make sure you comply with it.

Of course, an alternative to claiming off your home insurance for personal possessions is to take out individual item insurance. These specific policies will often have lower excesses and 48 hour replacement guarantees.

Recent question on this topic

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  • 
    MikeGG1 answered "Contents can be split between low risk items and high risk items and also there could be some..."
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Your mobile phone provider will usually offer you an insurance policy when you take out the contract, but it’s worth shopping around before accepting it as most of the time you can get a cheaper rate.

Try TalkCover, CUSC and Protectyourbubble.com for good deals on individual item insurance.

If you are insuring your new Christmas phone it’s also worth checking that your provider covers you for unauthorised calls. The last thing you want is to find that not only has your phone been nicked but the thief has also been making £5 per minute calls to the other side of the world from it.

Get cheaper rates

Some banks and credit card providers may offer their customers discounted rates on home insurance and personal possessions insurance. But remember cheaper doesn’t always mean better and as these policies are ‘add-ons’, they may not be as comprehensive as they look. Always read the terms and conditions to make sure you have a suitable amount of cover, and be suspicious when you're offered 'free' cover supposedly worth hundreds of pounds.

Taking a few simple steps to improve the safety of your home can also help you save a few pounds on your insurance premiums. Read Revealed: The top 10 burglary hotspots for some top tips on making your home more secure.

And it may sound obvious, but when you’re looking for any type of cover... shop around! It certainly doesn’t pay to be loyal when it comes to insurance as the best deals are always reserved for new customers.

You can get a home insurance quote quickly and easily by heading over to our home insurance comparison centre.

Insurance small print

Insurance providers are notorious for finding an ambiguous clause in your policy to justify not paying out, so it’s vital you read all the terms and conditions of any cover thoroughly.

Many providers will refuse to pay out if a theft is due to a ‘reckless action’ on your behalf. Unfortunately their definition of reckless could differ from yours if you do make a claim.

You may also find yourself out of pocket if you leave your phone or laptop unattended in a public area or commercial vehicle and it is stolen or if you are burgled as a result of an open window or unlocked door. Sometimes this clause even applies to your office at work!

It’s also worth checking what restrictions apply to items left in your car as many providers will only pay out if an item has been stolen from a ‘secure place’ like the glove box or boot.

Insurance for accidental damage and loss will also often be extra – so if you require this cover, make sure you tell your insurer!

*According to Zurich Insurance

More: This nightmare will ruin your Christmas Eight reasons to switch your home insurance today