Personal Liability

An interesting addition to most contents insurances is that of personal liability insurance. If you are responsible for injuring somebody or somebody else's property, you will usually be covered for your legal liability up to £250,000.

Valuation

Remember that you have the option of insuring contents either on the traditional 'indemnity' principle, or on the new-for-old principle.

If you accept the former basis you can claim the cost of repairing damaged articles, or of replacing what has been lost or stolen less an amount for wear and tear and depreciation since their purchase. If you accept the latter basis you will be paid the full amount of repairs or the cost of replacing with equivalent new items.

To decide for how much to insure the contents of your home you will have to list every major item in the house and make general 'guesstimates' for the many bits and pieces. Then you value them either at their current value as used items (if using the indemnity basis) or at their current retail replacement prices in the shops (if using the 'new-for-old' basis). The premium will be calculated as a percentage of the value.

All-risks insurance

Contents temporarily removed from the home are afforded limited cover under most policies. However, you should read the terms of the contract very carefully; you will probably discover that valuable items such as jewellery, cameras and sports equipment that are regularly taken out of the house are not covered for accidental loss or damage. If you want to have this 'all risks' cover you will probably be asked for an additional premium.

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