can someone help with insurance

winterwhite11

hello, can someone help please.
i have never had any sort of insurance before and don,t know where to start.
last year i had a flood that ruined a lot of items so thought maybe i should be insured
i am in my mid 40,s ,not working through illness.
i rent from the council
i was left some items of jewellery prob worth around £300 each plus a
ring with valution for £1200 plus a diamond ring worth around £5000
also about 10 mink coats , i have a valuation with the one saying it would cost around £8000 to replace.
plus i want to insure my normal items such as tv.
can anyone recommend a insurer and what is the insurance called that i need, is it contents insurance or personal items insurance???
i do have a few debts in my name as well, would i still be able to get insurance and do i need to let them know i have debts??
if i was accepted for insurance would i need to have all the items valued by a jeweller and furrier ..this would be very expensive for me but if anything ever happened how would the insurers know the value of my items or if i even owned them.??
i have not had insurance before as i said so if someone can answer my questions i would be very thankfull...thankyou

huckster

Discuss your Contents Insurance requirements with an Insurance broker, as you will need help. You will have a high level of valuable (high risk) items in comparison to normal contents, by the sounds of it. This will make Insurance more expensive to arrange.

Find a broker using this link.

http://www.biba.org.uk/ConsumerHome.aspx

For the valuable items you mention, you will need up to date valuations.

Personal debts not relevant, provided you have not been made bankrupt.

The flood will need to be disclosed and this may make it difficult to obtain cover.

lisyloo

You need to have contents insurance. This covers the contents of your home.
You also need to check the valuables section as many of the things you describe e.g. the jewelry and furs, will be valuable.
Normally there is a limit for contents and a limit within that for valuables.
You will need to check the single item limit and may need to list a few of the items seperately.
Personaly possesions cover is often an option on home insurance and covers things you might take out the house like watches, jewelry, sports equipments etc.

Your debts are nothing to do with the insurance, but if you want credit to pay for the insurance, then they may do a credit search, You don't need to tell them about your debts, they will appear on your credit report.
Debts are fine, but late payments or court judgements and defaults can stop you getting credit.

if i was accepted for insurance would i need to have all the items valued by a jeweller and furrier

You don't normally have to get a valuation, but if you had a claim then clearly insurers would want proof.
You say you already have a valuation for one coat so that will help.
If you don't have receipts then you could photograph the items although clearly the insurer won't know whether they are real or fake if you have a claim.
Ideally valuations would be best as proof.

Your best best may be to talk to an insurance broker rather than trying to do this DIY and ask for their advice.

If you are short of money, then one alternative is to sell one of the cheaper items to keep the rest safe and properly insured.
I appreciate they may have sentimental value but you have to trade off keeping them all but not being safe against selling one and keeping all the other safe.

winterwhite11

thanks,
do i pay for the insurance brooker as i am not working,,can i just do it on my own?
when you say insurance will be expensive ,what do you mean it will cost me a week aprox?
does anyone know as well what jewllers charge for a valuation nowadays as the last time i asked they told me it would be 15% of the value of the item which on 1 £5000 value ring is a lot of money..

winterwhite11

thanks guys, i think i will pass on insurance brooker and just diy
i will prob sell most of the coats to live on as i am ill at moment not working
so really i will need insurance for maybe the 1 coat with value of £8000 to keep for daughter and 2 rings total value around £6000 plus a few bangles at £300 each .
plus normal things like tv etc...
so can anyone kindly give me a insurers name to go with that would fit what i want..thankyou again

Quentin

You won't have to pay the broker (they get paid via commission on any policy you buy)

lisyloo

do i pay for the insurance brooker as i am not working,,can i just do it on my own?

Brokers take commission from insurers, you don't have to pay.
Many people do their insurance DIY as they think it will be cheaper.
Some of them make mistakes in not getting the right cover and not reading the Ts&Cs (we see quite a bit of it on here).
A broker has insdustry knowledge and indemnity insurance - so if they make a mistake with their advice then you are covered.
If you make a mistake when you DIY then you won't be covered.
For example if the policy says you must have an alarm and you don't read that bit, then you won't have anyone else to blame except yourself.

As your circumstances are somewhat unusual then you've been given advice to talk to a broker. You might find it difficult to get cover for diamond rings and fur coats on a council estate yourself and you might be have restrictions imposed e.g. get an alarm. A broker might be able to help with accessing specialist companies that he'she knows about throught their decades of experience.They should also be able to answer your questions e.g. valuations.

I personally think you should use a broker because of your situation but if you go DIY make sure you read all the assumptions, terms and conditions that apply as making a mistake may mean you are simply not covered and could cost you big time.