What is Contents Insurance?

There are two primary areas of cover:

• Household Goods
  • This includes the likes of furniture, carpets, kitchen & other appliances, TVs, radios, books, ornaments etc
• Personal effects
  • This includes the likes of clothes & articles of a strictly personal nature likely to be worn, used or carried (e.g., sports equipment and pedal cycles).
  • Personal effects need added to a policy as an additional element, or else items aren’t insured outside of the home

Remember that this insurance is always looking at what you have inside the home, not the actual property. To be protected from structural damage, you’ll need AA Home Insurance.

Who is Contents Insurance For?

Contents insurance can be taken out by both homeowners and renters, as it applies specifically to the property’s contents, not the property itself.

When you value your belongings, you typically define a specific “sum insured”. The sum insured is the maximum that the insurer will pay out in the event of a claim. If it is too little, it is likely that your claim will not be paid in full. However, if it were too high, the premium could be overly expensive.

Working out that you’ve covered for

To work out your correct sum insured, go from room to room with a notebook and write what it would cost to replace everything in each room. This figure should also include all the fittings owned by you, such as light fixtures and curtains.

Knowing what a contents insurance policy covers you for

Policy details vary from company to company. Most insurers cover loss or damage in the building due to the following:

• Fire, explosion, or smoke
• Escape of water or oil from any fixed water or heating installation or domestic appliance
• Impact involving an aircraft, aerial device/satellite or anything falling from them
• Vehicle, train, or animal
• Falling trees or branches
• Riot, civil commotion, strike, or political disturbance
• Malicious persons or vandals
• Storms, lightning, earthquake, or flooding
• Subsidence or Heave of the site beneath the buildings or landslip
• Stealing or attempted stealing

Also covered are contents temporarily removed from the home, anywhere in Ireland or the UK, for an amount not exceeding 15% of the contents sum insured.

If you have expensive jewellery, antiques, curios or paintings, your policy may require you to have them professionally valued. AA Home contents insurance policies will even cover the contents of your fridge and freezer, for example, if your freezer contents thaw due to a power cut.

Knowing the importance of home contents insurance

You’ll have spent considerable time, money, energy and thought making your home your own.

Kitting out your home is usually a gradual process. Imagine for one moment that you lost some or all of your home’s contents due to any of the examples listed above.

Consider how financially devastating this could be if you didn’t have adequate home contents insurance.  From something as minor as a water leak to falling branches through the roof, having sufficient home contents insurance cover in place will be a huge weight off your mind. It only takes a few clicks to get contents insurance with The AA.

Knowing that renters need coverage too!

Those renting will typically put more importance on their contents than homeowners, yet renters are often not as forthcoming in getting adequate projection.

While renters may own their household goods like furniture and appliances, you never want to leave personal effects without coverage. The AA provides coverage for renting families, students, couples & single or multi-person cover. You can click here to get a quote quickly.