Grey areas of cover on household items

7th June, 2010

Home contents policies do not always cover personal items outside the home. This has come as a surprise to many who have tried to make a claim on their policy only to find the cover is inadequate. The financial research firm Defaqto, has recently revealed what it believes is a large degree of variance in policies. Some policies had coverage of less than £1,000 with 43% of policies offering sums from £1,000 to £2,000 of the total cover.

One of the main grey areas is the cover for items kept within garden sheds and garden furniture including barbeques and plants. The total amount of under insured goods in Britain was thought to be in the region of £225bn with the average household under insuring their possessions by as much as £9,000.

Another grey area for many is the amounts of money personal goods are worth when taken away from the home on holidays. Many people under value their electrical items and jewellery when travelling abroad not realising their travel insurance will not necessarily cover high value items. Many householders will have cover for their goods whilst travelling but need to check this before travelling, extra insurance may be needed.

 

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