Prepare yourself for the unexpected!


Updated on 27 March 2009 | 0 Comments

Don't get caught out by having inadequate home contents insurance..

OK, I'll admit it. I can't predict what's going to happen in the future. If I could, I'd be off on a desert island somewhere, enjoying my millions. But I'm writing this article instead.

What's the moral of this story? It's impossible to predict what's around the corner - and that means it's pretty tricky to prepare for the unexpected.

Still, there is one thing you can do: Ensure you have enough home insurance to fully cover you when disaster strikes!

Worryingly, this is a task that many of us fail to do. In fact, according to a survey by insurer NFU Mutual, just over half the people surveyed (53%) had reviewed their level of home contents cover in the last year -- leaving the other half potentially underinsured.

Amusing tales

To give you an idea of just how unexpected the unexpected can be, here are some rather bizarre claims recently settled by NFU Mutual:

As entertaining as these tales are, if the people involved had not had adequate insurance, they would have been a lot worse off.

The serious bit

When calculating how much insurance you need, it can be easy to neglect items that aren't strictly in the home -- such as those in the garden or the garage. What's more, as we accumulate more belongings (particularly after events such as Christmas), it's easy to forget that this can bump up the value of your home's contents. This means the new value could be more than the amount covered by your existing home insurance policy, without you even realising.

To combat this, it's worth regularly reviewing how much cover you have in place as well as the value of all your belongings.

But if you're feeling a bit daunted about working this out, don't worry! There's an easy way to figure out whether you're sufficiently covered by checking out this nifty home contents calculator from NFU Mutual. It guides you through each room in your house, and all you need to do is add in the value of your belongings. Simple!

If, however, this is too much hassle, you could opt for an insurer that gives you unlimited cover for contents, such as Abbey, Halifax or M&S Money. With these insurers, you don't have to specify a limit to the value of your property. However, the premiums can be higher for this reason, so if you don't have much to insure and you don't mind the hassle of valuing all you own, you may be better off with limited cover.

Extra tips

Another great place to look when calculating how much contents cover you need is the Halifax Virtual Home. This provides you with plenty of tips on how to protect your home and how to sufficiently cover your belongings. To give you an idea of the things this might include, I've highlighted some of the most important tips to remember in and around your home:

In the home

In the garden

In the garage

And remember, it really is worth reviewing your home insurance policy on a regular basis and making sure you're fully protected. After all, we might not be able to predict the future, but we can at least try to protect ourselves from the unexpected!

More: Secure your home from light-fingered thieves | Make sure your home insurance covers this!

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