Do you have home content insurance?

remorseless

I am moving to a new flat and the referencing agency is trying to 'sell' me home content insurance...

I have been living in London now for over a year and I don't have it in my current flat... actually I never really had it even back home!

should I have home content insurance? The building I am moving to is fairly secure (same as current) with front door and then actual door deadlocks, etc.

Mallotum_X

Don't buy it through the agent.

DepositSaver

I agree don't buy it through the agent, but do buy it. I have contents insurance and always have. It's not just burglary you are insuring for, but things like fire and flood. Your home could be like Fort knox but that doesn't prevent a fire breaking out and destroying all your belongings. Could you afford to replace them all?

pyueck

DepositSaver wrote: »

I agree don't buy it through the agent, but do buy it. I have contents insurance and always have. It's not just burglary you are insuring for, but things like fire and flood. Your home could be like Fort knox but that doesn't prevent a fire breaking out and destroying all your belongings. Could you afford to replace them all?

Depends what you own. I seriously don't own much, know it sounds silly but I don't have all the latest electrical items, clothes etc. If I was renting a place replacing all my stuff would not be that expensive. If on the other hand you live in a rented place with expensive belongings and more importantly would struggle to afford to replace them then yes insurance is a good idea.

Remember if you do buy insurance keep the receipts of all your expensive purchases to show the insurance company in the event of them going missing/getting destroyed.

Shop around, I very much doubt the agent is the best deal as they will be getting commission for the sale.

remorseless

DepositSaver wrote: »

I agree don't buy it through the agent, but do buy it. I have contents insurance and always have. It's not just burglary you are insuring for, but things like fire and flood. Your home could be like Fort knox but that doesn't prevent a fire breaking out and destroying all your belongings. Could you afford to replace them all?

Defo not buying thru the agent... though I was more curious in general as a concept! Should I have or not insurance.

I usually live clutter free so don't really have that many belongings here! Do all have home content insurance?

comeandgo

I have always had home contents insurance even when I owned very little. You can set the value or have a new for old policy so that whatever is lost is replaced at new value. My inlaws lost everything due to an electrical fire and the insurance meant they could at least not have the worry of replacing absolutely everything fron scratch again.

pyueck

remorseless wrote: »

Defo not buying thru the agent... though I was more curious in general as a concept! Should I have or not insurance.

I usually live clutter free so don't really have that many belongings here! Do all have home content insurance?

If you have nothing to insure then definitely no need for insurance. As with any insurance you need to do an assessment of whether the cost to outsource the risk to a third party if something happens is justified.

Personally I don't insure much apart from properties, travel outside the EU and cars, as I prefer to take the risk myself with smaller value items. For me a lot of people insure things without really knowing why.

pyueck

comeandgo wrote: »

I have always had home contents insurance even when I owned very little. You can set the value or have a new for old policy so that whatever is lost is replaced at new value. My inlaws lost everything due to an electrical fire and the insurance meant they could at least not have the worry of replacing absolutely everything fron scratch again.

Yes but really this does depend on how much you own. In a rented flat it is not uncommon for a tenant to actually own very little, and therefore insurance may not be worth it. If there was a fire the landlords fittings are not the tenants problem unless the landlord can prove the tenant was liable for the fire.

It also depends on somebodies financial position. If you know that you could not cope financially then insurance may be a good idea even with low value items. For somebody with significant savings they may make the decision that even if £20k worth of stuff gets burnt nothing, that is a risk they are prepared to take.

dimbo61

If you use comparisons websites, quidco, swinton and direct line I am sure you can get cover for less than a cup of Costa coffee each week.
You will be surprised how much it costs to replace Everything you own if stolen or destroyed.

nubbins

I usually do a search using the comparisons sites, see which one is cheapest and then pay using topcashback

tocs23

remorseless wrote: »

I usually live clutter free so don't really have that many belongings here!

You would be surprised at how the replacement cost of your 'essentials' could mount up! Write a list of all your belongings and how much they would cost to buy new... iPad, laptop, TV, camera, furniture, even your clothes! If you think you could afford to replace all of that without insurance, then you probably don't need it - but I'd be surprised if that was the case

Your agent will be getting a nice kick-back on any policies they sell, so I would definitely shop around to find the best price for the level of cover you need. You might be surprised at how inexpensive it can be.