A guide to contents insurance
Making a swap with another council house or housing association tenant is a great way
of making an essential move more quickly and flexibly than usual. But when you relocate,
it's important to get a cheap home insurance
policy in order; in fact, it should be pretty high on your list of priorities.
If you are a council or housing association tenant then you will not need to have buildings
insurance as you will not own the property. However, you will need to get your contents insurance
updated to protect yourself should the worst happen and your belongings are damaged or even destroyed.
It's not a legal requirement like car insurance is, but it is strongly advisable to protect any valuable
items you may have.
Moving home is a great time to take stock of your belongings and calculate their worth -
in fact, it's perfectly feasible to do so whilst you pack up and complete two jobs at once!
It's essential that when working out your contents insurance you make an accurate calculation
of what your belongings are worth. Insurers will not cover for a greater value if you realise later
that the contents of your home are worth more than what you declared, so it's important to get it right.
If you have a valid insurance policy, then it's vital that you notify your insurance company of the change
in your circumstances, or risk completely invalidating it.
You should also make sure you have a good idea of what the exclusions of your policy are.
These are the circumstances in which you will not be able to make a claim. Each insurer will
have a different set of exclusions, but a common situation that will make you ineligible for a
claim is if items have been stolen from your home without any forced entry possibly due to the
house not being properly locked whilst you were out. If you declared having a burglar alarm fitted
but you don't use it, it also might make your claim invalid. This also applies to smoke alarms which are
disabled or not maintained.
How to get a cheaper contents policy
There are several ways to lower your insurance premium. Some may require investment,
but the outlay will pay dividends over the years, not to mention making your home safer.
For example, you could try the following:
Get involved in Neighbourhood Watch
Being a member of a neighbourhood watch scheme, could rewarded you with a
discount from your insurer so find out if there's such a scheme to join.
Meeting your new neighbours could be a bonus on that!
Prevent fires
By fitting at least one smoke alarm you're likely to make
yourself eligible for a discount, but make sure you use it
appropriately or risk invalidating your claim.
Agree to a higher excess
Opting to pay a higher voluntary excess will make your premium cheaper.
But it should always be set at a level that you are comfortable with in
the event of having to make a claim.
Know your choices
'Add-ons' can pile on the cost of your insurance policy.
To keep your premiums down don't add things that you might not need.
Shop around
With the advent of comparison websites, it is now much easier to browse
for quotes from a wide range of insurance providers. But make sure you get adequate cover from
the policy that you choose should you need to call upon it: the cheapest is by no means always the best.
Online purchase could also trim down your expense due to the reduced overheads for insurance companies that internet trade brings
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