to be agog that my friends have no contents insurance

[AdmiralButterfly]

I mean it is none of my business but it came up in conversation. They have buildings insurance but not contents. So if they were burgled they would get nothing and if the house burned down they would not have anything to cover clothes and furniture etc. I am totally agog. They have all the normal laptops and TVs etc and all the usual burglar able things - jewellery, musical instruments, a bit of silverware.

Another point worth making is to ensure that you are not underestimating your contents as any payouts will be reduced by the same percentage. For example if you only have cover for £20000 but the claims assessor decided that your contents total £40000 and you put in a claim for say £10000 then they will likely reduce your claim by 50% and you will only receive £5000

That seems fair. If you have £40K of stuff and only insure for £20K, you are only insuring half your things. Therefore, if £10K of your things get stolen, then surely only half of them were covered. So you get £5K.

Built in wardrobes would come under contents not building insurance.

It made me laugh that someone said they can't afford house insurance, but do have travel insurance. I'm not sure how anyone can afford a holiday and the related insurance but not something as fundamental as house insurance.

I could never be in the position that I didn't have house insurance. I would sacrifice almost anything I could as to me out is an absolute necessity.

Even most people that have it are underinsured, they simply have no concept of how much it would cost to replace everything. A lot of people also don't realise that things like carpets and blinds often need to be covered by contents and not buildings.

I definitely had to make a claim on my contents insurance for my neighbour's contents that were damaged after the pipe burst in my flat.

Were you negligent? The following Moneysavingexpert thread says you are only responsible for downstairs water damage if you are negligent.

forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5453511

Built in wardrobes would come under contents not building insurance.

Surely not? What's the difference between a built-in wardrobe and fitted cabinets in a kitchen or bathroom? The latter are covered by my buildings insurance.

A lot of people also don't realise that things like carpets and blinds often need to be covered by contents and not buildings

And wallpaper,and paint and plaster...

buildings insurance covers the structure of the building, plus permanent "fixtures and fittings" such as baths, fitted kitchens etc. The test is - can it reasonably be removed and taken to another home- If it can, then it is part of the "contents" and it will not generally be covered by a buildings policy.

Fairly clear that you can't take a built-in wardrobe with you to your next house.

Hmmm,I'm wrong then, I though contents was in the house and building insurance for bricks and mortar. Seems policies differ.

Yes contents are - can you pack it up and take it away with you? This includes carpets, although few people would take them away, it is possible.

So, for example, we would normally consider fitted wardrobes, fitted kitchens and built-in appliances to be covered under a buildings policy, whereas the contents policy would cover items of furniture and appliances that are free-standing or (if screwed to a wall) easily removable.

www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/30/30-ins.htm

(Actually, it's news to me that fitted appliances are covered under buildings. I thought they would be contents. They are often standard sizes so it would be feasible to move them from one house to another.)

But you can't take paint,plaster ,wallpaper away with you but all that comes under contents because we claimed off it.

I remember wooden floors being a grey area. Our lease required floors to be covered by carpet, therefore when it was necessary for a floating wood floor be removed to trace a water leak, building insurance didn't want to pay. The flat-owner persuaded their contents insurer to pay, but our building manage thought they were a bit luck to get away with that.

I would think it's arguable that fitted carpets are non-portable, therefore should be covered by buildings.

Seems I'm wrong now... (From my link above.)

Like the courts, we follow the industry convention of treating carpets as "contents", even though they are often fitted. Although most people would probably leave their fitted carpets behind when moving home, the fact remains that fitted carpets can be taken up relatively quickly and easily and re-laid to an acceptable standard. It is their transportable quality that properly makes them part of the contents.

We claimed on contents for wood laminated flooring.

These grey areas are why it's always a good idea to insure your building and contents with the same insurer. There is a slight risk otherwise that you might find a particular item is not covered on either policy.

We always get a combined buildings and contents insurance with accidental damage then there is no worrying which it come under, we also have full cover for everything in the garage, sheds and garden, DH's 6 bikes and lots of cover for stuff taken out of the house so it is covered when we go away in the caravan, we generally pay about £200-250 a year but do have to change it if it goes up at renewal.

Combined building and contents is for people who own the house. People renting get contents. That is why disputes arise.

"It depends on someone's personal circumstances. Yes for many contents insurance is sensible, particularly if you can't afford to replace everything quickly."

I agree. In our case it is much, much cheaper to have contents insurance. We live in a 4 bedroom house that is carpeted throughout except for the kitchen, dining room, bathrooms and loo. All rooms except for the kitchen bathroom and loo have curtains (kitchen, bathroom and loo have blinds)

Every room is fully furnished, we have quite a few electronic devices between us, we all wear clothes, sleep in bedding and use towels. We have books, kitchen gadgets, DVDs and CDs, plus loads of other paraphernalia. It would cost tens of thousands to replace all of that. It would be utter madness not to insure the contents of our house.

@LoafofSellotape built in wardrobes were definitely part of my buildings not contents claim. Along with paint, plaster and wallpaper. It must depend on the company, or maybe the severity? My home had all new walls and ceilings put in, then the building company supplied decorators who came in and wallpapered etc. We were given an up to price guide to choose but not buy the items which was all done through the building company’s head office.

When people have a fire that destroys things, how do you prove what you had to insurance companies? Or even remember all the bits and pieces?

In my case the fire was contained to the kitchen but because it had smouldered so long the whole house was written off due to smoke damage. A company were sent to go through and itemise every single thing in the house, even down to a bag of potatoes. We were then given the list to add prices to and agree or disagree that everything was included or not. That was for me a really difficult and long process.

Okay thanks. I had always wondered that.

You have a 1 in 17,000 chance of claiming on contents insurance. Most statisticians would say that's far too small to worry about.

However, even though the chances of the risk manifesting as an issue are LOW the severity is potentially HIGH, ie. the loss of all your possessions.

This means your risk status is at least MEDIUM, possibly HIGH. Because mitigating this risk is generally not particularly onerous, ie. contents insurance is cheap, a risk manager would generally recommend buying insurance. Plus you have peace of mind.

I used to work in risk management.

I have only claimed once on contents insurance for a £100. I have paid nearly £10,000 premiums on contents and building insurance

It's contents insurance. Surely the risk is worth it for some people but not for others?