As a tenant, you can sit back and relax, safe in the knowledge that if your washing machine leaks, your boiler breaks down, or there’s a leak in your roof, you can call your landlord or letting agency and arrange for them to sort out the repairs. But when unfortunate events like burglary or house fire occur, how can they help you?
Well, in short, they can’t. If your stuff gets stolen or damaged, irreparably or otherwise, only you are liable for replacing it and when it happens all at once, as it often does, it’s only then that many people realise the true value of their belongings.
The building itself is insured by your landlord but if anything unfortunate or untoward happens, your personal belongings - computer, gadgets, TV, DVD collection, clothes, jewellery, whatever you own - won’t be covered by your landlord’s buildings insurance.
We can’t predict the future and we can’t be prepared for every eventuality but that is where insurance comes in. If something goes horribly wrong, your home contents insurance company will pay to replace what was lost or damaged as a result, often saving you thousands of pounds.
A home contents insurance policy will cover almost everything you would take with you if you were to move house, so electrical items like TVs and computers, personal effects like DVDs, record collections and books, valuables like jewellery and ornaments, furniture, furnishings like carpets and curtains, clothing and cash.
With regards to what’s not covered, policyholders are usually limited to a maximum amount of compensation for any one claim or against any one item, so anything that goes over the threshold outlined by your insurer won’t be covered. It’s therefore crucial that you carefully estimate what you need cover for, and pay the premium accordingly.
Your cover may also be affected or even cancelled if your home is left uninhabited for a long period of time – just make sure you check with your insurer as to how long that period is before you get cover.
As is always the case, the type of cover a policyholder receives is down to their individual insurance company and the level of cover they pay for. Most home insurance policies provide cover for events such as burglary or attempted burglary, fire, explosion, lightning or earthquake, water leaks from burst pipes or tanks, storm and flood damage.
While these events occur fairly rarely in a person’s lifetime, the simple fact is that when they do, they can be financially crippling, and can often take years to recover. So, for a small fee every month, you can buy yourself the peace of mind that if the worst happens, your possessions are fully covered against every eventuality.
There are plenty of good deals out there and, with sites like www.moneysupermarket.com that compare the quotes from a huge database of customers in a matter of seconds, there really isn’t any excuse for not getting yourself covered.