Have Your House Contents Covered

Home contents insurance is one of the most widely purchased forms of UK insurance policy; covering many risks from around the home, so many in fact that often people are simply unaware of the level of cover they have purchased. Therefore, they may end up buying unnecessary and sometimes expensive additional insurances, while being blissfully unaware that they are already covered under their home insurance policy.

Anyone purchasing insurance should diligently read their policy documents to find out exactly what added extras are included. As home contents insurance policies can vary from insurer to insurer, reading the policy document from first page to last is the best way to find what is included with your cover, and what also may be excluded. From doing so, this will allow you to make other arrangements to get covered elsewhere, should it be required.

For example, mobile phone insurance is often offered at point of purchase by all the major network operators to cover loss, theft or damage to your handset. But, many mainstream UK-based insurers already offer cover for personal possessions that are temporarily taken outside the home as part of their home contents policies. Such cover invariably includes mobile phone handsets, as well as cash and credit cards.

Depending upon the insurer, there may be an additional monthly amount to pay for that level of cover; but the extra premium is often cheaper than purchasing a separate mobile phone insurance policy and also covers many more items than just the handset. Most insurers also extend personal possessions cover to trips abroad, providing that the policy holder doesn't exceed a maximum number of days out of the country per trip.

Another less-well known type of cover offered with many contents insurance policies covers the insured for loss of keys and provides for the cost of replacing house locks. An example of such an incident would be the theft of a handbag containing house keys and documents that identify the owner's address, such as a driving licence.

Other more widely-known cover offered with contents insurance includes accidental damage cover against certain possessions such as TVs, computers, videos and other electrical equipment. Again some insurers offer this type of cover as standard, whilst others will add an amount to the insurance premium if the coverage is required as an optional extra.

It is important to remember that the level of cover for any of the features mentioned will vary according to the insurer. Therefore, if you are looking for insurance and require a particular cover then make sure that it is included at the time you request your home contents insurance quote.