Home contents insurance considerations

Are you under- or over-insured?

When you go grocery shopping without a budget, the cost can spike pretty quickly. The same can be said for your home contents. You may think your contents are valued at $20,000, but may be shocked to find out their value is more like $100,000. So when it comes to insuring your goods, it’s better to overestimate their value. If you don’t, you may well regret it. 

Have you considered quality?

Think about the quality of your contents. Are they new and expensive luxury goods, or cheap hand-me-downs? The quality of your contents can very well affect the insurance premium you wish to pay, so be honest with yourself and your insurance provider.

Are your treasured items actually covered?

If you have valuable jewellery, cash, collectables or art, it’s worth reading the fine print of your policy to see the extent to which these items are covered.

You may be surprised to find that under basic contents cover, insurers generally strictly limit the amounts they will pay to cover these valuables. In this case, you should consider listing the personal item separately on the policy to ensure it will be covered.

What about if you’re out and about often?

Overseas travellers and those with expensive wearable items may want to consider enhancing their contents policy with portable contents cover and/or extended leave cover. With portable contents cover, your named items are insured against loss, damage or theft if you’re away from home. And if you’re absent for more than 60 days, extended leave cover will help keep your contents insured during your absence.

With so much to consider, it’s worth having a good read of your policy’s product disclosure statement. And remember, you can update your home contents insurance policy at any time – so be sure to keep it up-to-date.