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Insurance

Brits underinsure belongings by £20k

Christina Hoghton
Written By:
Christina Hoghton
Posted:
Updated:
26/07/2016

Do you really know the value of the contents of your home?

Brits are undervaluing their home contents by an average of £20,000, according to analysis of home insurance quotes from MoneySuperMarket. And this could put them at risk of not having a future claim paid out in full.

The price comparison site revealed that homeowners typically estimate the value of their home contents at £35,000. However, according to insurance experts, the average three bedroom family home in the UK has £55,000 worth of items, meaning there is an average £20,000 ‘insurance gap’ in each home.

Insure your valuables

Laptops top the list of possessions most commonly itemised on home insurance policies – 34% of valuables listed on UK policies fall into this category. Second on the list is bikes (22.8%), followed by jewellery (22.4%), and watches (7%).

Homeowners are also warned to check whether or not garden equipment is covered by their home insurance, as it isn’t always automatically protected.

Londoners have an average £265 of outdoor heating equipment in their gardens, those in Cardiff have up to £298 of liquid assets in the form of fish, rockeries and water features, while Norwich residents keep BBQ equipment worth up to £290 in their gardens.

Kevin Pratt, insurance expert at MoneySuperMarket, said: “When insuring your prized possessions, it is crucial not to undervalue your home’s contents to get a cheaper policy. Otherwise you risk finding you’re not fully covered if you need to make a claim. As well as making sure they have enough overall contents cover, people should also ensure they itemise specific high value items on their policy – insurers want detail on any possessions likely to be worth £1,000 or more.

“Many policyholders are under the impression items kept in their garage or shed are included in their main home contents policy. However, if there is no connecting door to access through the main house, garages and sheds will usually be classified as ‘out-buildings’ and there will be a separate contents limit on most policies, as with items kept in the garden.

“You should also check the terms of cover for items in the garden or garage. For example, a bike might be insured while it’s in your garden, but only if it’s secured to an immovable object.”