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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To consider getting rid of my contents insurance

70 replies

ZeroMinusZero · 27/08/2012 11:51

It's my choice of course, so it doesn't really matter whether it's unreasonable or not, but I'd be interested to hear from anyone who can think of a reason why I should have it. I have a fairly normal flat with fairly normal stuff in it (TV, computer etc) but nothing worth above about £300. My insurance has an excess of £100 so I would only ever claim if the TV or computer broke - which they might not. I live in a very low crime area and can't see a burglar ever targeting this flat as it's right on a main road and hard to get into.

Am I missing something?

OP posts:
TrudiRed · 27/08/2012 17:13

YABU get insurance. What if you flood the people who live downstairs like I did many years ago (put washing machine on before work and it was still filling when I got home - my flat was fine just a little damp under the machine but they needed all sorts as the puddle ended up in their living room). Local people here are out of their homes for 6-12 months following recent floods and everything downstairs being destroyed or damaged. You can't predict what will happen - that's the whole point and you will be gutted if you need it one day.

valiumredhead · 27/08/2012 17:28

YABU especially as you live in a flat!

caramel1 · 27/08/2012 17:34

I had a kitchen fire 2 DAYS after getting my contents sorted. I had to get rid of all the kids stuff because soot can cause asthma and I was in a b & b for 9 weeks (In one room, 4 of us plus dog), it would have been longer but our neighbour was evicted so we temporarily moved there.

The whole lot came to nearly £9000, I didn't get that much though. The smell of burnt wet wood is not a smell I like and it is also very hard moving back into a house with that kind of trauma attached to it.

I would get contents if I were you, otherwise you could end up living in a cardboard box with nothing.

BadgersRetreat · 27/08/2012 17:35

there is no way i'd be without it knowing how much it would cost to get it all back again...

when we emigrated we had to add up the value of replacing everything in our very ordinarily furnished (mostly ikea) 2 bed flat.

GBP 50,000

fifty fecking grand! we were Shock

geegee888 · 27/08/2012 17:36

HellonHeels most insurance policies exclude damage caused by civil unrest - eg the London riots.

I've saved around £3000 in contents insurance over the years. I will stand the cost of replacement should anything be damaged, comforted by my saving. Insurance, except when strictly necessary, is generally such a waste - such an under-regulated, badly run industry.

hatesponge · 27/08/2012 17:41

I agree YABU, sorry.

Unless you are in a high risk area, you should be able to get cover for about £150 a year, or less. I'd rather get rid of my TV and pay for insurance using the licence fee money than not have insurance tbh.

havingamoment · 27/08/2012 17:42

YABU. I cancelled my direct debit with a view to shopping around.

It was 18m b4 I realised I had no contents. As soon as I realised I did set it up. 6 months later, after living in the same house for 7 yrs and never claiming, I was burgled. They took my mobile phone and all my jewellery.

I make sure that I always have contents now. I never in a million yrs expected to be burgled. You just dnt know what's rnd the corner.

FruitbatAuntie · 27/08/2012 17:48

Please don't cancel it.

We had a house fire three years ago. A minor one, in the cellar, so mostly smoke damage, although we also needed a full rewire as it was electrical - and some of the wiring got burnt out by the fire.

Our buildings insurance paid for full redecoration, new kitchen, new floorboards on ground floor etc. And the costs of us staying in a hotel for 2 months, then 9 months(!) in a rented house, as it took so long for them to get buders, electricians etc out to fix it!

Our contents insurance paid for new carpets (yes, they were classed as contents!), furniture to replace smoke damaged items, new oven, fridge, dishwasher, TV, stereos, computers... Basically most electrical items in the house, as small particles of soot can enter electrical items, then ignite when they are used creating a new fire hazard. There was also the cost of replacing every item of clothing, toys, books and furniture of our then 3 year old's, as soot can be toxic to small kids so EVERYTHING he owned was skipped! And finally, the cost of dry cleaning every item of clothing bedding and so on that we owned, to rid it of soot and the smell of smoke. This alone came to over £7K!

Oh, and we were given an advance of £1.5K to cover the cost of buying clothes, food and other necessities for when we were staying in a hotel. That also came out of the 'contents' side of things.

Whilst I am on my soapbox, I implore everyone reading to check what 'alternative accommodation' costs their insurance covers. We were lucky, our covered up to £40K, but when renewing I have seen many (most) policies only cover a couple of thousands in costs. That would have left us homeless for months! Never underestimate how long you may be out of your home if you have even a small fire or flood!

Bossybritches22 · 27/08/2012 17:48

WELL I'm going against the crowd OP & saying YANBU.

I have all second /third hand recycled/freecycled stuff. I have an insurance policy of £2 per month on my washing machine as that is new but otherwise only house insurance. I am really really skint & I have had to cut back on everything non-essential. £20/£30 pcm is the difference between eating more bloody pasta or having the odd bit of chicken/meat.

As Margery said upthread it is a risk I'm prepared to take.

Once I am in a better position & have nicer new stuff then I will insure.

joanofarchitrave · 27/08/2012 17:54

I know one person who didn't have contents insurance for a long time as she felt it was more efficient just to have less stuff. I wouldn't be without it as I like having stuff and am phenomenally careless.

nocake · 27/08/2012 18:12

We had a sewage flood earlier this year. Fortunately it only flooded the cellar but when we totalled up the stuff that was damaged it was over £3k. There was nothing of great value in there but I was astonished how the little items added up.

Take the risk of not being insured if you want but before you do make sure you add up the value of absolutely everything you own... and I mean everything.

AllFallDown · 27/08/2012 19:09

If you are rich, but not a collector of expensive things, it is worth getting rid of contents insurance. I have a very rich friend who has none, because he says the cost of insuring balanced against the probability of total loss means it is cheaper for him to go without. And he can afford to replace everything without it being a crippling problem. But if you are anything less than rich, stick with the insurance.

AllFallDown · 27/08/2012 19:13

By the way, the people pointing out that the savings you make from not having insurance are greater than the claims you make are absolutely right. But they also ignore the fact that if you have a disaster you need all that money in one go - would you really set aside £10 a month or whatever just in case you did have a disaster?

Lizcat · 27/08/2012 20:01

Several years ago a friend found herself and her 4 daughters dressed only in their PJs in the street watching their house burn down. Oh yes with 5 days to go Christmas. Having got them into a hotel and clothes on their back the next thing her claims consultant said was 'you must of lost all the Christmas presents - how much did they cost fine go and replace them'. Her eventual contents claim was close to £30,000.

Glittertwins · 27/08/2012 20:12

What about burst or cracked pipes and resultant damage from that? I can't remember whether it was the building or contents that paid out from a cracked shower pipe but it would have been hellishly expensive for us to cover all the repairs.

nikcname · 27/08/2012 20:42

We had a teeny tiny little leak in the bathroom. Didn't notice until it suddenly flooded the kitchen. Insured so not a problem...turns out the kitchen ceiling had asbestos in it. Apparently it is fine until it has damage?! We had 4 men in white suits, contamination areas etc for a week to remove the whole lot! WITH insurance it took 2 months to sort out kitchen and bathroom. Without I dread to think. If you didn't have insurance, and the man up the road fixed something would he have checked the asbestos levels? House was only built in the 70's.

QueenOfMuppets · 27/08/2012 23:08

I am also with Margery- insurance is like gambling- the house always wins.

I don't have contents- the buildings ins. covers all the flats in our building and so contents is disproportionately expensive as we can't get deals by combining them.

We have enough in savings to be able to go out and buy the basics (sofa, beds etc) so would get by in the highly unlikely event of ALL of our belongings being destroyed. While we would struggle to replace everything we own, we could do without a lot- if we're honest we don't NEED all of the dvd's or books or clothes that we own, so we wouldn't replace them. The things that would be really devastating to loose (wedding/engagement rings, wedding pics, original artwork, wedding presents, sentimental value stuff) can never be replaced so there is little point in trying to insure it agains loss.

Contents insurance is a nice safety net but as someone else pointed out these companies will pay out as little as possible, do everything they can to avoid a claim and unless you've combed through the fine print you're probably not covered for as much as you'd hope anyway.

YANBU

jojane · 28/08/2012 03:33

I dropped the iPad ad smashed the screen, paid £50 excess and got a new one, no way we could have afforded £400 for a new one. Yes we have paid more than £400 in premiums but if everything went up in smoke we wouldn't have thousands f pounds to replace even the essentials.
We also pay £10 a month for our photos and important documents to be stored online somewhere in Germany so if we had a fire or computer stolen we wouldnt lose all our photos. We Lso have a smal black fireproof box which we store passports, copies of photos on disc and other important items so in event of fire would be safe.

Morloth · 28/08/2012 04:15

Insurance is very expensive, until you need it, then it turns out to have been very cheap.

sashh · 28/08/2012 07:16

I used the legal aid option on my insurance, I got £20 000 compensation.

My electrical goods are insured anywhere in the world and as a result they have paid out for a couple of mobile phones.

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