High Risk Contents Insurance
It’s a fact of life that some of your belongings are more attractive than others to thieves because they’re easily stolen and resold and – usually – because they’re quite high in value. We call these high risk items, and we ask you to specify these on your policy if they’re worth more than a certain amount or if you want them to be covered outside the home.
What are high risk items?
High risk items include:
- Engagement rings.
- Wedding rings.
- Watches.
- Other jewellery.
- Artwork.
- Collectibles such as coin, medal and stamp collections.
- Mobility scooters.
Clocks, furs, gold, silver or other precious metal (including plated) items, guns, medical equipment, and ride on or robotic lawnmowers also count as high risk items.
How do I get insurance for high-risk items?
High risk items individually, or as part of a collection, worth less than £1,500 are covered as standard (except for accidental damage which is optional) on Homeprotect contents insurance policies up to a maximum of £5,000 or 20% of the contents sum insured, whichever is lower, inside the home.
If any of your high risk items are worth £1,500 or more or if you want them to be covered outside your home, you need to specify these on your policy, telling us what they are and how much they’re worth.
Don’t forget to let us know about any electronic gadgets and bikes worth £1,500 or more you have too.
Getting the value right
When you add high-risk items to your contents insurance, it’s important to make sure that they are properly valued and not underinsured.
Key points
It is your responsibility to inform your insurer of specific items and their value so that you are properly insured and will not be left out of pocket in the event of a claim. Make sure that you:
- Keep the receipts as proof of the purchase price.
- Have valuations updated regularly and store the certificates in a safe place. It is recommended that jewellery is valued every two years by an accredited jeweller.
- Keep a record of your high risk items, with photographs and a description, as these details can help insurers to process a claim more easily.
- Store your valuable jewellery and watches in a safe at home when you’re not wearing them. Never leave valuables on display where they can be seen by opportunist burglars.
When making a claim, bear in mind that you’ll be liable to pay any excess already stipulated under the policy terms and this could be more than the cost of replacing the jewellery or other valuable yourself.
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What’s covered by contents insurance?
Having contents insurance means you won’t be out of pocket if you need to repair or replace your belongings after they’ve been stolen, damaged or destroyed.
What we offer
Quick fix for uncontrollable leaks
Have a home emergency, such as electricity failure, faulty locks or vermin infestation? With the 24/7 Home Emergency cover, which we provide as standard, you can typically get an engineer at your home within four hours. And if you’re worried about an uncontrollable leak in your home, we aim to have an emergency plumber to you within two hours.
Extreme weather conditions may extend response time. Policy terms and claim limits apply.
New for old
Where we replace an item, we will do our best to meet the original specification on a ‘new for old’ basis. If we can’t find an exact replacement, we’ll offer you a suitable alternative, or a full cash settlement.
Legal advice
We provide Legal Protection cover as standard, giving you access to telephone legal advice on any personal legal issue, under the laws of the UK, any European Union country, the Isle of Man, Channel Islands, Switzerland and Norway.
What isn’t included?
Lost items.
Items stolen from unoccupied vehicles.
Damage caused by pets.
The cost of repairing or replacing items following a mechanical or electrical fault.
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Contents Insurance Cover Levels
Our contents insurance is designed to protect your belongings against insured events such as fire, storm, flood, escape of water, theft, malicious damage, subsidence, landslip or heave.
Contents cover
Covering the value of all your possessions in the home, on a new for old basis.
from £25,000
Alternative accommodation
For you and your pets, in case you can’t live at your home while it’s being repaired after an insured event.
up to £10,000
Home emergency
Covers emergencies that occur in your home like uncontrollable water leaks, electricity failure, faulty locks and vermin infestation. Two levels of cover are available.
up to £500
Family legal protection
Provides a 24/7 legal advice helpline and up to £25,000 cover for claims involving contract disputes and property damage. For a claim to be successful, there must be reasonable prospects (more than a 50% chance) of winning the legal case. Two levels of cover are available.
up to £25,000
Liability cover
Liability cover involving accidental death, bodily injury or illness or property damage that you are legally liable to pay.
up to £5 million
Personal possessions
Cover for portable items that you take out of your home, like bags, clothes and sports equipment
Optional
Gadgets, bikes and valuables away from the home
Cover for electronic gadgets (e.g. mobile phones, laptops, tablets etc), bikes (including electrically assisted bikes) and valuables (e.g. watches and jewellery) that you take out of your home.
Optional
Accidental damage
Covers situations when unexpected accidents happen, such as spillages on the carpet, breakages around the house or drilling through hidden pipes. Two levels of cover are available.
Optional
Your Questions Answered
In most cases, they are covered up to a certain maximum per claim if you make sure the value of these items are included in the value of contents to be insured. You can find out more about our garage insurance here, and our shed insurance. Please note that there are some items that we can’t insure such as boats and water skis, please refer to the policy booklets for full details.
Not unless you have taken out our personal possessions cover. This cover is an optional extra that you can purchase with your policy. Under our Homeprotect policy, the personal possessions option covers your personal belongings against theft or physical damage anywhere in the world.
If you are taking these possessions overseas, cover is included for up to 90 days each year. Any individual items worth £1,500 or more and any bike, electronic gadget or high risk item will need to be specified on the policy.
We consider jewellery to be a high risk item. As standard we have a limit of £5,000 (or 20% of your contents sum insured, whichever is lower) for high risk items which are individually worth less than £1,500. If you have lots of jewellery (or other types of high risk item) which are individually worth less than £1,500 then you can contact us and we can request an increase in cover from our underwriters. Alternatively you can choose to specify items on your policy which means they are covered independent of the high risk item limit.
If an item of jewellery is worth more than £1,500 it will need to be specified on your policy.
No, the only items you need to specify on your policy for cover within your home are items worth £1,500 or more each, if they are classed as “high risk” which are:
- Clocks
- Coin collections
- Furs
- Gold, silver and other precious metals (including plated items)
- Guns
- Jewellery and watches
- Medals
- Medical equipment (including hearing aids)
- Ride on or robotic lawnmowers
- Stamp collections
- Wheelchairs or mobility scooters
- Works of art
Please also specify any mobile phones, smart phones, laptops, tablets and pedal cycles worth £1,500 or more.
Compulsory and voluntary excesses are the amount you pay towards a successful claim.
Compulsory excesses vary depending on the section of cover you’re claiming under and the type of claim you’re making. If you make a claim under both buildings cover and contents cover, both sections will apply.
If you chose to include voluntary excesses when buying your policy, they are paid together with any compulsory excesses for the section of cover you’re claiming under.
You can find your excess amounts in your policy documents.
Take your jewellery to a registered valuer, such as one who is a member of the Institute of Registered Valuers. They can provide you with a valuation and also a detailed description of each piece, which also sets out how the value has been determined.
In the event of a claim, you may be asked to provide evidence of value and ownership, such as purchase receipts or valuation certificates. It’s essential to provide this documentation for any high-risk items that you’ve specified on your policy, such as jewellery or watches.
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