Home insurance - accidental damge

poppysarah

Just doing a home insurance quote for myself and checked the one with the red telephone that isn't on price comparison sites.

It's £210 for buildings and contents.

Amazingly £100 plus cheaper than anywhere else.

Its because they don't include accidental damage as standard - their excess is £200 -
Even with it added it's only added another £50 to the total.

Sounds good - BUT how likely am I to need accidental damage? My OH is pretty good at repairing stuff - so the only things we would need to replace if we broke them ourselves would be windows.

I know accidental damage covers spilling brews on computers - have done that in the past with a laptop and claimed - but these days laptops aren't as dear as they were - so a new one is only £200 ish more than the excess...


So how important is accidental damage?

They cite the example of red wine on a carpet. Well - I'm not a big red wine drinker ....
If I break the bathroom sink with a mug - another example - then a new sink is less than the excess anyway and my OH would fit it...

What do you think? Am I being overly optimistic about not needing accidental damage cover?

Gwhiz

For £50 - no brainer.

ceegee

Most things that might happen are covered by the standard policy. I worked in insurance for over 20 years and "accidental damage" was introduced during that time. What with all the exclusions it brought with it, we all felt it was not worth the extra money.

I've never felt the need for it and have never had it, but it's up to you whether or not you think it's worthwhile.

AFK_Matrix

Well I took out accidental damage on both the contents and buildings cover on my policy. I know I am going to be doing some work on the outside of the property and knowing my luck I will do something stupid and damage something and as for the contents I am also going to be doing some decorating and work on the inside over the coming year so for my piece of mind I got both. It's not only you, you have to think about. What if you have visitors and they have kids and they manage to knock that lovely expensive vase etc, do you have the money to replace it or anything else etc? Its upto you but for me its a bit of peace of mind that if I do manage to do something stupid and break something it is covered.

poppysarah

AFK_Matrix wrote: »

What if you have visitors and they have kids and they manage to knock that lovely expensive vase etc, do you have the money to replace it or anything else etc?

They'd have to be bringing me an expensive vase.

I am a cheapskate at heart so it's tempting.

Just trying to think what I own that I could break and not fix myself.

I have an iPad but I won it - so wouldn't have bought one... and OH fancies having a go at repairing that if that broke. But thats the most expensive thing. With a £200 excess then thats only £200+ for upping next years insurance.

ceegee

AFK_Matrix wrote: »

Well I took out accidental damage on both the contents and buildings cover on my policy. I know I am going to be doing some work on the outside of the property and knowing my luck I will do something stupid and damage something and as for the contents I am also going to be doing some decorating and work on the inside over the coming year so for my piece of mind I got both.

Check your policy wording carefully, as there may well be exclusions for damage caused during "maintenance" and so on.

AFK_Matrix

Thanks Ceegee I will do that as I only got it on Monday so I am still waiting for all the documentation and if it looks like its not worth it I will cancel it.

ceegee

AFK_Matrix wrote: »

Thanks Ceegee I will do that as I only got it on Monday so I am still waiting for all the documentation and if it looks like its not worth it I will cancel it.

Always best to check the exclusions.....they are many-fold!

It was generally accepted that one could be "over-insured" as well as "under-insured".

Although it is, of course,always up to each of us to decide how much insurance we need. It depend on the individual's circumstances. Some people felt that it was enough to have to pay for the compulsory stuff (motor, buildings, liabilities, life etc) without having to pay for extras.:(

On the other hand, some prefer to pay a bit more for the peace of mind.:)

It all depends on the person!

AFK_Matrix

poppysarah wrote: »

They'd have to be bringing me an expensive vase.

I am a cheapskate at heart so it's tempting.

Just trying to think what I own that I could break and not fix myself.

I have an iPad but I won it - so wouldn't have bought one... and OH fancies having a go at repairing that if that broke. But thats the most expensive thing. With a £200 excess then thats only £200+ for upping next years insurance.

That's fair enough Poppy, only you can decide if you have anything really expensive you want protected or if you have the spare cash to make good anything that gets broken etc.

If you haven't got anything really expensive then maybe its not worth it. And from what Ceegee said I will be looking at my policy and cancelling the accidental damage if it does have those exclusions.

I really have insurance lol, so many exclusions etc you have to watch for!!

*Robin*

A little word about the red telephone lot:
I had Buildings and Contents Insurance with them, including accidental damage cover. An internal lock failed and we had to damage the door to release a visitor from the bathroom (it was Xmas day so no chance of getting a locksmith out).
I 'phoned the insurer to ask whether the damage was covered. They said 'no' so I sorted it out myself.
Come renewal time they called me, and the girl said "I see you made a claim which was refused." ?? Pardon? No, I just 'phoned with a question.
..Turned out they record this as a refused claim - which would have increased my future premiums.
Several stiff letters to Head Office later, it was agreed that I had not made a claim - but they'd lost my business by then.
I now have a much better policy with Privilege - oh and it was cheaper than DL had been the year before!

martinjade

*Robin* wrote: »

A little word about the red telephone lot:
I had Buildings and Contents Insurance with them, including accidental damage cover. An internal lock failed and we had to damage the door to release a visitor from the bathroom (it was Xmas day so no chance of getting a locksmith out).
I 'phoned the insurer to ask whether the damage was covered. They said 'no' so I sorted it out myself.
Come renewal time they called me, and the girl said "I see you made a claim which was refused." ?? Pardon? No, I just 'phoned with a question.
..Turned out they record this as a refused claim - which would have increased my future premiums.
Several stiff letters to Head Office later, it was agreed that I had not made a claim - but they'd lost my business by then.
I now have a much better policy with Privilege - oh and it was cheaper than DL had been the year before!

Careful, both companies are effectively one and the same, just different brands