HOUSE INSURANCE - help...im being thick

[Mamazon]

I don't have much...well nothing of any real value. most of what i own was donated to me or bought second hand.
BUT if i lost any of it i would have no way of replacing it.

yesterday i thought my Tv was broken and i got to thinking i should get household insurance just in case something like that does break. but when i have had a breif look at some insurance sites i can't make out of things like this would be covered in their "accidental damage" part?

also, how much should i be insuring for? and what others hints and tips can you give me...i am totally inept with things like this.

You basically go around every room that you have and total up how much it would be to replace it with either new or second hand.

Ie how many clothes have you got, pairs of pants how much woulod that be to replace.

How about plates in the kitchen with all your other stuff.

How much is a new computer the list goes on. Most people are under insured.

Most of the time it is new for old stuff anyway after any excess is paid for by you.

Once you have got quote give another ago and then go on line to see if you can save more as most will give 10% off on line.

Have done this loads, i also assume that the house is rented and not shared, if it is shared then you might have to go to a specialist company like ensleigh which deal with sharers oitherwise it will not be valid if you break anything.

do you know, i wouldn't have even thought about clothes and plates and stuff. i would have just put things like teh TV and pc etc.

thanks jelly

You don't get much back for clothes though - they are generally exempt from new for old.

A TV broken in terms of just being old and knackered wouldn't be covered under any policy, but one broken because the dc kicked a football through the screen would be covered as long as you had 'accidental damage'.

If you underinsure you could lose out. Say there was a fire and you had to replace half the house contents. If you had insured yourself for £10k, then following the fire a loss adjuster comes out to visit you, and decides that you still have £7k of stuff left, then you will only get £3k paid, even if you actually lost £10k of stuff in the fire.

So you need a value including all of your furniture, pictures, electricals etc etc.

You normally specify an 'all risks' amount too, which is for stuff like jewellery that you wear out of the house. This will then mean that it is covered when you are wearing it away from home.

I think you need to have a chat with an Insurance broker, have a look on yell.com
As you point out there are a few things to consider and it might help having it explained to you.
Additionally some companies have a block cover meaning you get a standard cover for a set premium that can simplify it for you.

Have a look for companies like Marks and Spencer, they dont ask for limits as their policy is unlimited (based on number of bedrooms).

If going for a standard policy where you put in a sum insured, you'll need at least 35k to replace everything inthe event of a fire.

However, in you OP, you mention your tv breaking. Home insurance doesm't cover againt things breaking down or not working.

As others have said insurance is to cover things that have been damaged, lost or stolen. You can't claim for a new TV if yours conks out unfortunately.

It's amazing how much it would cost to replace everything if you had a fire (think not just TV, fridge etc but teaspoons, clothes, toiletries, telephone, contents of fridge and so on.) IMO insurance is essential and always go for a policy with no limit on contents, or a very high limit.

If you own the property you should have buildings insurance - if you rent your landlord will have buildings cover but it won't provide for contents at all.

When in the UK I always insured with M and S for buildings and contents as they has an unlimited policy. I thought it was expensive at the time, but now I live abroad and have insured my contents with a firm that deals with HM forces, and am paying as much for a £75,000 contents cover as I paid for unlimited buildings and contents combined with M&S.

The M&S policy is the best one I think.

Accidental damage is a good thing to have. It covers you for things like spilling paint or in my case a big shelf falling off a wall, breakin crockery, spliting the floor and damaging the cooker. They take photo's of the damage then tell you to go to Debenhams to get quotes for the things that have been damaged. They then give you the money minus any excess. You can get cheaper insurance if you don't make a claim. Freezer contents insurance is good incase the electricity goes off. Mines with Legal and General, I get 25k for £9 a month but it depends what area you are in. Phone around and get as many quotes as you can. I changed from twatwest a few years ago after they increased my premium to £40 a month!