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.

I know someone that didn’t have it (let it lapse...but still bought fast food). She had a fire, was a single mum and lost everything including her house (was a trailer home). It’s been 12 years and it’s still negatively impacting her.

MIL and FIL didn't buy a house until they were in their 50s. They had never had insurance but when they bought the building society insisted on buildings insurance and they got a combined deal with contents.

After one year they cancelled the contents part. Why? “Because nothing happened so it’s a waste of money”. 😐

Within 6 months they had a kitchen fire, an accident with oil on the carpet and a grandchild smashed a laptop.

MIL was incredulous when I said all those things would have been covered by their insurance.

Yes, @Canyousewcushions, this is what I’m saying when it comes to DH and me, we would end up spending more than we would ever spend/have in household items.

I’m not saying that contents insurance isn’t necessary, I just don't see it as necessary for me right now. And like I said, I expect we will get it when we have a baby, and I suddenly need to spend hundreds on a travel system that I can’t get second hand!

Some friends lost almost everything in a flood. A pipe froze in the attic.

Everything, every thing from carpets to cookbooks to furniture was condemned.

Home contents insurance was worth every penny.

It scares the life out of me. When you start to add up what you actually have it’s quite an eye opener, clothes, phones, tablets, computers, kitchen equipment, games consoles, jewellery etc etc. I’d never take the risk.

I don't have it, I wish I did but as a single mum paying high rent from 1 salary - i have the barest of bones of direct debits, no Sky or anything like that.

I had a serious think about whether I should have either content insurance or union membership - I went union in the end to cover my job. As others have said for my contents I would get a lot of things from Asda / FB marketplace if the worst happened.

Mine is £22 a month but it includes accidental damage.

Worth it’s weight in gold when DD dropped my MacBook down the bloody stairs!

Off the top of my head I can thing of 3 friends and acquaintances who have had to make big claims caused by loos flooding etc

When I was in my early 20’s and living at home my Mum asked me to work out the rough cost of all my stuff as my parents were updating their contents insurance. I guessed at £2k or so but she made me do a top line breakdown. I calculated that just my jeans alone would cost over £1k to replace After that shock I would never be without contents insurance!

What happens to people who don't have contents insurance who lose everything?

When you’ve been through a house fire, believe me, the last thing you want to do is look on gumtree.

You have no phone to look
You have no internet to look
You have no address to give out
You have nowhere to store any items you want
The one thing you do want is comfort and homeliness, and the ease to do it as soon as possible.
Buying stuff off gumtree is not necessarily going to fulfill this. Ad you have no internet access anyway.....

If you picked up your house turned it upside down, all that flakes out is contents covered under contents cover. If you had a flood you would be covered to replace or clean, you would have accommodation. Or storage while your home made secure, it's not easy to just replace everything

I think anyone who doesn’t have proper home insurance is irresponsible. Same with life insurance.

The only situation I would kind of understand- would be a rented property. Not many belongings. Maybe living in a flood risk area with a higher premium.

Out of interest, I’ve just had a wander through my house. These are the most expensive items in each room:

Dining room: a vase from Anthropologie that I got in a sale for £25. Literally more expensive than our dining table. And if it went in a fire, I’d say, “Oh dear,” and one day I’d buy a new vase.

Living room: we have a nice bottle of champagne on display from our wedding. I don’t know the exact value, but it’s definitely worth more than the couch!

Kitchen: the oven, which the landlord kindly bought new for us when we moved in, but I’m not responsible for that. The most expensive item I bought in there is the kettle. I would just buy a new kettle!

Spare room: empty, save for our clothes, and I think the most expensive item is a £35 dress.

Bathroom: most expensive toiletry item is my Bare Minerals powder foundation. Again, I’d just buy another when I felt I needed to.

Bedroom: the mattress is the most expensive item, but it’s coming up to seven years of use, so probably need a new one anyway!

Utility room: chest freezer, which was about £40, plus the food inside, which at a quick glance would probably value at £30 including frozen down batch cooking.

I don’t own “proper” jewellery, just a few pairs of H+M studs and a necklace from Anthropologie. The only high value jewellery is my engagement ring, which I am always wearing anyway, so would only go if I also died in the fire... and then I don’t think I’d be too fussed, being dead and all.

We just don’t have a lot of stuff. Sorry if this is dull to anybody, I’m just trying to figure out how to get up to 70k. To me, that seems very excessive for two people.

Insurance is gambling like placing a bet

If you take out life insurance you are making a bet that you might die and get a pay out for a greater sum then you have payed for the insurance.

Insurance companies are there to make money. They rely on people paying more in then they get out. That's how they make a profit

I'm gambling that If I did have contents insurance I would possibly pay more in then I would ever get out.

I lost my last few bets with mobile phone insurance £100s spent and nothing claimed. Better off putting the insurance money in a savings account.

But my home is made up of Gumtree purchases, anyway, Emoji, and it’s always felt nice and homely.

Like I said, I don’t have a phone in the first place. I would have internet though, at all my relatives and friends’ houses, and at work, and I would store things at my family’s home.

It’s a gamble. Pay the premium and your placing a bet that you will need to collect at some point. Don’t pay the premium and your betting you won’t need to collect.

I'd love to know where I can get contents insurance for £2.50 a month! Ours is about £160 a year.

I love how people say it's irresponsible not to have insurance - not everyone can afford it.

DH doesn't have life insurance and I only have it through my job so if I leave it will cease but we can't afford it. We have travel insurance through my bank account but I exclude most things to keep the cost down. In an ideal world everyone would have all singing all dancing insurance but it's not always like that!

I don't have insurance. Or savings. An awful lot of people on low incomes have no savings because they can't afford to save. And when every penny counts, insurance is an unnecessary expense - as a PP said, it's basically gambling.

I haven’t got contents insurance. Definitely wouldn’t cost thousands to replace our stuff.

I know this because when my marriage ended, I had no furniture, white goods, beds, bedding, anything at all. And most of what I acquired was free or cheap. I furnished the whole house very quickly via freecycle. And no asking for handouts either, just things people were already getting rid of. My white goods were all free apart from my tumble dryer which was £30.

Insurance companies are there to make money. They rely on people paying more in then they get out. That's how they make a profit

Who knew?

It's a business, there to make money. They shouldn't have to apologise for it. They don't claim to be charities.

We don't.
Everything we have is old (computers etc)
Or 2nd hand
And we don't have vast wardrobes or collections of kitchen appliances etc

To be honest looking around, if we were to do a big move somewhere I'd sell most or giveaway and then start over rather than pay removalists

We do have very good car insurance though

And always take out good travel insurance

I don't have it, I haven't had contents insurance ever, I've had a house for nearly 30 years. The only things I care about in my house are my animals and photos, neither of which are replaceable.

If we had to rebuild, worst case scenario we'd live in our caravan or with relatives. I could more than easily replace my wardrobe at Sainsbury's for £200 for the time being. My husband and dad are pretty practical and can easily put in a new kitchen or bathroom or replaster a room. We'd buy cheap carpet for the time being, second hand furniture (all of our white goods have been cheap off eBay anyway). Then we'd gradually replace things with new as and when. We're not really top of the range types either.

What happens to people who don't have contents insurance who lose everything

They lose everything, and have to do without until they get the money together to re buy stuff - it's as simple as that.

Each to their own, but I just don't get why you wouldn't get insurance - I understand that individual items might not be worth a lot but they add up really quickly! Most of my clothes are from Sainsbury's and my single most expensive item is a £55 dress, but add them together and my wardrobe is probably a couple of grand before you add shoes (i am big chested and my bras are probably £30/40 a pop)