Protecting Your High-Value Gifts

Written by

Home Insurance Expert & Customer Champion

Reviewed by

Content & Digital Marketing Executive

Special occasions like weddings, birthdays, and Christmas are filled with joy – and often, expensive gifts. These new valuable items in your home are an exciting prospect, but they also need to be protected. With the right preparation and precautions, you can ensure your gifts are secure and enjoy the occasion (and your new presents) to the full.

Are your gifts covered by Homeprotect’s home insurance?

We’ll automatically increase your Contents sum insured by 10% for a period of 30 days, immediately before and after special events such as your; wedding, civil partnership, anniversary, birthday (births or christenings) as well as any month in which you celebrate a religious festival such as Christmas, Eid, or Hanukkah. See your policy booklet for details.

High-risk items

Many gifts on special occasions fall under the “high risk items” category. Examples of high-risk items include:

Engagement rings.

Wedding rings.

Watches.

Other jewellery.

Artwork.

Collectibles such as coin, medal and stamp collections.

Mobility scooters.

How can you protect your gifts?

Give yourself peace of mind by taking these three simple steps to keep your presents safe and sound…

1. Alert your insurer

Before the celebrations begin, let your insurer know what’s under the wrapping paper, so they can check your policy details and specify any high-value items individually on your policy.

This includes electronics, designer items, watches or jewellery and expensive art pieces, and is especially important if they are worth more than £1,500.

2. Take extra precautions

Keep a record of digital receipts and photos of your gifts for your records should anything happen to them.

Also, be smart about where you store them. While it’s unlikely you’ll put them on display when keeping them hidden from prying eyes, don’t place them near windows and consider a hiding place that’s locked or more secure than usual from opportunists.

For example: while Christmas may be the season of giving, unfortunately it’s also the season of taking. Never leave home without ensuring doors and windows are locked, consider investing in timed light displays and ditch any expensive packaging discreetly.

For more information, see our advice on How to Protect Your Home.

3. Consider extra cover

If you’re likely to take your gift out of the house, for example, to a relative’s home or are planning to travel with them, consider whether you have an appropriate ‘away from the home’ cover. You can check your policy documents and policy terms to see if this is already included or if it’s an optional extra that you’d need to add to your policy.

Some retailers may also offer add-ons such as accidental damage insurance on individual products at checkout for an additional fee. But this may not be needed if you already have comprehensive accidental damage cover as part of your existing home insurance policy. Don’t double-insure!

For more information, see our Contents Insurance FAQs.

Check your policy, secure your gifts, and enjoy!