Home contents insurance

What is contents insurance?

Contents insurance enables you to protect your possessions against loss, damage and theft. It's a good way to protect your belongings. 

What does home contents insurance cover me against?

Contents insurance covers you for loss and events outside your control, such as:

It could also give you the following benefits:

When comparing policies, check to see which benefits are included and which cost extra.

What does contents insurance cover?

What kind of belongings does contents insurance cover me for?

The type of possessions covered include:

Once you’ve found the best policy for your needs, talk to your insurer about any particularly valuable items you have.

How do you cover your valuables?

You can cover valuables separately. Your insurer needs to know about high-value items in your home.

Some policies give you an individual cover limit per item, others offer you a total cover limit for all your valuables, such as jewellery, watches, works of art or computer equipment.

Some home contents insurance policies offer an individual cover limit per item – for instance, £2,000. Others give you a total cover limit for all your valuables, such as £15,000.

Do you need buildings and home contents insurance?

Some policies cover both the building itself and the contents inside it. This is called home insurance.

Not everyone needs both buildings and contents insurance. 

You can buy these contents and buildings insurance separately if it suits you better.

Find out more about home insurance

Find out more about buildings insurance

How to get the best contents insurance quote

Make sure your policy can cover the cost of replacing your contents if they’re stolen or destroyed. Ask yourself:

Calculate how much home contents insurance cover you need

Your policy should cover the cost of replacing all your chosen belongings. 

The claim limit is usually based on the number of rooms in your house. If the limit you’re offered isn’t enough, you can ask for a higher amount, but you have to pay more.

Go through each room and work out the value of your:

Remember to add what’s in your loft, garage or shed.

How much does contents insurance cost?

The cost depends on how much you need to cover. Here’s how to keep the price down.

What information do I need to share with insurers?

Your provider is likely to ask for the following details: