House/Flat Contents Insurance - do you have it?

[Earlybird]

Must confess that I do not have insurance cover for the contents of my flat because I have no idea how to value/insure what I've got, have no idea which company to use, and have not wanted to spend the money. So, have simply been hoping that I'll continue to be lucky, and will never need it. Am I the only one who has been so lax?

For those of you who've got contents insurance, have you ever claimed? Was it straightforward, or were hard lessons learned?

Saw in yesterday's newspaper that insurers usually don't want to settle claims with cash reimbursement, but instead want to provide the claimant with comparable replacement items (tv, computer, etc) from their approved "suppliers". Of course, these suppliers give the insurance companies hugely discounted deals as the companies purchase products in bulk. (one of the most eye-opening parts of the article was the fact that a lost Sony tv isn't necessarily replaced with a Sony tv.....but with something that the insurers consider comparable!) Article went on to say that insurers consider anyone who presses for a cash settlement as a prime candidate for fraud investigation!

Your contents cover anecdotes and advice appreciated! You'll either convince me that its unnecessary/a waste of money, or that I'm silly not to have this cover arranged.

Also to bear in mind that it may not only be replacement items you need. When we had a fire in our cellar, nothing on the top floor needed replacing but the insurance paid for everything to be cleaned by a specialist company. The whole place was blackened and reeked of smoke but by the time they'd finished you would never have guessed. I'd never have known where to begin doing it myself and was grateful to have my own things 'rescued'.

stupid question...what happens about buildings insurance when you dont own your property?

If you don't own the property the buildings insurance is taken out by the landlord as would be a level of contents insurance to cover any appliances, carpets etc. However there are sometimes exclusions on claims due to damage by tenants. Tenants still need to insure their own belongings separately.

just wondered as i phoned up my insurance to find out if my shed was covered recently and he said the contents were but the shed itself wasnt and i would need to ask the council about the buildings insurance. i got to wondering what would happen if say there was a fire as ive spent thousands trying to do up this house and certainly couldnt afford to do it again. would the council clean it up, slap on a bit of magnolia paint and bung me a £200 decorating grant again? would i get anything to replace all the money ive spent on decoration, fitted kitchen, new doors etc? what about my laminate floors and things like that (i dont have carpets)? im not being ungrateful as i know i get all my repairs done for nothing but ive spent so much money and worked so hard just to get it livable id hate to start all over again! i am planning to buy the house as soon as i can get another job sorted out and know that im secure enough in it.

Bit late posting on this thread, but thought I should share the tale of when I moved to Nottingham a few years ago. Five weeks after moving in the house was burgled and then set on fire, the ground floor was gutted and everything else was ruined by smoke. (Worth noting actually that it was only the prompt response of the fire brigade that meant the house didn't actually explode, as the arsonists had attempted to blow up the gas meter and the gas fire in the living room). (Worth noting as well that at least I wasn't there at the time it happened).

I fortunately had insurance with Royal Sun Alliance, taken out just 4 weeks previously. I thought they would be highly suspicious - I'd paid them all of about £20 and now I was going to be claiming in the region of 20 grand. Fortunately their loss adjuster was excellent - I took her round the charred ruins once (poor woman in her smart suit whilst I was wearing combats and hiking books) and after that RSA paid up with no bother at all.

They did want to replace like with like for the electronic stuff, but I couldn't accept it as I decided to leave the country permanently (I was working abroad during the weeks anyway and the thought of having to leave a flat empty all the time and worrying about it was just too much) and we eventually agreed on a lower cash settlement for the amount. They also wanted to replace CDs and DVDs directly, except for some of my rare Cuban stuff which they couldn't find again, and agreed to deliver this to me in Sweden. Books we agreed a price per book (one price for paperbacks and one for hardbacks) and other stuff I costed based on what a replacement would / did cost.

Btw, as far as I can tell, the police made virtually no effort to find the arsonists and oddly enough, I will never live in Nottingham again.

However, points to note:

• always have contents insurance (as others have said)
• if you can, maintain an up-to-date list of your contents (pref somewhere not in the house, could be an electronic list stored in Yahoo briefcase for example), this will make it a lot easier in the event of a full claim. Most of my stuff was still in existence after the fire because the house didn't blow up, but it was difficult to remember all the stuff that had been completely destroyed as it was.
• keep important docs in a fire-proof box (I don't think this would have helped me as they would probably just have stolen the box but anyway) and most importantly:
• have smoke detectors, make sure they work, and have a plan for how to get your family out of a fire

This last point isn't related to insurance, nor was it relevant in my case as the only people who had to get out were the arsonists! I don't think I would have been exactly grief-stricken if one of the b$st$rds hadn't have made it out. (I've got over my phase now where I wanted to track them down and set them on fire myself).

However, I think it's worth mentioning in the context. Losing your possessions in a fire isn't the worst thing that could happen - although it ain't great.

tribpot - what an awful story! Thanks for taking the time to share, and thanks also for the practical suggestions. Am happy to hear that your dealings with the insurance company were satisfactory, and hope that your life has gone in a positive direction since that horrific experience.