How much contents/building Ins. needed?

ScorpioLady_2

Am currently insured with Abbey for house and contents, £46.00 per month.

When looking into price comparison sites they want to know the amount of insurance I want. I can't find anywhere how much I am actually insured for with Abbey, ie contents (I realise that sounds rather silly, but I think it is for everything necessary).

How do I work out how much I need, is there a calculator?

ie 1850 detached stone cottage(market value £190K), 3 bedrooms.

1 adult and 2 children (nothing particular of value, just the usual electricals)

Any advice or suggestions would be gratefully appreciated.

Stageshoot

From what you say

you should be ok with any policy, rebuilding costs of about £250K on standard buildings policy


Contents most Start at about £30k, but bear in mind if you have any high value items and if you are taking cover for items out of the house this will increase your policy.

£30k seems a lot but when you start adding up what you have, you may find it low, remember the general rule

If the item would fall out if you tipped the house over then its contents if not then its Buildings, for example a Cooker (Built in is Buildings and Freestanding is Contents, same for all other appliances). Carpets are contents, but fixed flooring like Tiles or Laminate are buildings!

vikingaero

£46 a month!:eek:


You should be able to get a premium policy for £300 pa - that's home & contents. Some insurers give standard cover up to £75k for contents alone. And the £300ish doesn't include any offers such as using cashback sites like Quidco.

cattie

vikingaero wrote: »

£46 a month!:eek:

I echo this :eek: :eek: :eek:

I pay just under £20 month with Halifax for buildings & contents, both with a blanket cover, on a much higher value house than yours.

Shop around, you should definitely be able to find a much lower premium I'd have thought, unless you have had claims in the past which reflect your high cost of course.

ScorpioLady_2

Thank you for your responses.

Out of 14 years with Abbey I have only had one minor claim (last year) with them, the cost has always been roughly the same.

ScorpioLady_2

Having read Martins advice saying sometimes price shouldn't always be the deciding factor, what are the key things I should be looking out for?

nelbo009

While price shouldn't always be the deciding factor, £46 a month is a lot tobe paying.

In terms of working out what level you should insure at, as said above, your contents covers everything in the home that isn't nailed down - if you think of it as a doll's house, if you turned it upside down, everything that falls out is contents. Make sure you insure for the full replacement value of all your contents, as if you are underinsured, you would lose out if you had to make a claim.

For buildings, it depends on the insurer. Some rate on market value, but most now rate on rebuild cost. You can find this on a recent surveyor's report, if you have one, or there is an online calculator you can use at http://calculator.bcis.co.uk/

What you're looking for is simple - does the insurance provide everything you need? Are the contents covered new for old? Is accidental damage cover included, if you want it? Do you have contents covered away from home? What extras are included (home emergency cover, for example)? The advisor who quotes you has to disclose all key aspects of the cover before giving you the price, so, while it may be boring at times, pay attention to what they're telling you. If anything isn't mentioned - ask about it.

Hope that all helps.

tom188

Dont underestimate how much you insure your contents for. I have seen several people made bankrupt as result of having inadequate protection. The costs of cleaning up after a fire for example are far higher than you would expect.

ScorpioLady_2

tom188 wrote: »

Dont underestimate how much you insure your contents for. I have seen several people made bankrupt as result of having inadequate protection. The costs of cleaning up after a fire for example are far higher than you would expect.

This is one of my main concerns. Is there a calculator that they work on eg 1 adult, 2 children, 3 bedrooms, nothing of exceptional value really, most expensive possession is the £400 TV, although I realise all the other bits and pieces would add up.

rich_jtg

I came across this thread earlier today as I was looking for a similar question.

I found this calculator on the fool.co.uk website which might be of interest if anyone else is looking for one.