WATCH INSURANCE

David Joyson

Written by

David Joyson

Home Insurance Expert & Customer Champion

Emily Young

Reviewed by

Emily Young

Content & Digital Marketing Executive

Less than 1 minute

Updated: 14 Jan 2025

Homeprotect can insure watches as part of our contents insurance

Often, a watch is among the most valuable possessions a person owns. Popular brands like Omega, Rolex or vintage collectibles from Patek Philippe can also be very expensive. You will understandably want to make sure that your investment is adequately insured.

Wearing your watch every day means that you will face risks like damage and theft. And while any sentimental value is irreplaceable, financial remuneration can at least be put towards repairing or replacing the watch.

If your watch is under a certain value it will likely be covered by your home insurance, but for more valuable items you should specify them on your policy. Be certain to define if your watch insurance is just for the UK, or if you need cover when abroad.  

insuring your watch as part of your contents

At Homeprotect, you can insure your watch along with your home contents. You may well find that it is cheaper to include your watch in your home insurance rather than taking out a standalone policy. It’s also easier to manage at renewal!

Luxury watch insurance that’s part of your home insurance policy will often provide more cover than standalone watch cover too, with worldwide cover for specified items on a new for old basis. Make sure to read the policy terms when getting a quote as insurance provider terms vary.

High risk items such as watches that are worth £1,500 or more must be specified individually in your policy to be covered up to their replacement value. Be prepared to provide evidence of ownership and a valuation of your watch. Additionally, watches individually worth more than £5,000 must have been inspected and fixed (where a fix is needed) by a qualified jeweller within three years of the claim being made.

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What’s covered by contents insurance?

Your belongings make your house feel like home. If they’re stolen, damaged or destroyed, our contents insurance helps cover the cost of replacing them — so you’re not left out of pocket. 

  • Fire and smoke 
  • Flood and storm 
  • Theft and attempted theft 
  • Escape of water or oil 
  • Malicious damage 

This includes items like furniture, electronics, clothing and kitchenware — plus a limited amount for contents stored in garages, sheds and outbuildings within your boundary. 

What we offer

Emergency help when you need it most 

If you have a home emergency — such as a power outage, uncontrollable leak or a broken lock — our 24/7 Home Emergency cover is included as standard. 

  • We aim to get an engineer to you within four hours 
  • For serious water leaks, we’ll try to have a plumber with you in two hours

Response times may vary during extreme weather. Policy terms and claim limits apply.

5 star rated cover

Our insurance has received the highest rating from independent financial researchers, Moneyfacts. 

12-month repair guarantee

Any repair work we arrange after a claim is guaranteed for one year. 

New for old

Where we replace a damaged or stolen item, we’ll do our best to match the original — on a ‘new for old’ basis. If that’s not possible, we’ll offer a suitable alternative or a full cash settlement. 

Family Legal Protection is included as standard. You’ll have access to expert telephone legal advice on personal matters under the laws of the UK and most of Europe. 

What isn’t covered?

There are some things we can’t cover, including: 

Items you don’t own or aren’t legally responsible for 

Items stolen from unoccupied vehicles  

Gradual wear and tear, or damage caused by pets 

Faulty design, construction, or workmanship or failure to fix a known issue

Mechanical or electrical breakdown

Keeping your home and belongings in good condition is essential. If damage happens because of neglect or poor maintenance, your claim may be declined, and your policy could be cancelled. 

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*Survey data of 1,089 buying customers from 30th October – 12th November 2024

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

Protects your household contents — including furniture, clothing, appliances, gadgets and valuables — against events like fire, flood and theft. Cover is provided on a new for old basis.

from £25,000

Alternative accommodation

We’ll help cover the cost of temporary accommodation for you and your pets if your home becomes uninhabitable due to an insured event. If you stay with friends or family instead, we’ll cover your extra living costs.

up to £10,000

Home emergency

Covers sudden, unexpected emergencies — such as an uncontrollable leak — that require immediate action to prevent damage or secure your home. Two levels of cover are available, for different types of insured loss. 

up to £500

Covers legal costs for certain insured events. There must be a reasonable chance of success, and the incident must happen during your policy term. Two levels of cover are available, for different types of insured loss. 

up to £25,000

Liability cover

Covers your legal liability for accidental death, injury or illness to someone else, or damage to their property.

up to £5 million

Personal possessions

Covers items you wear, carry or use outside the home (e.g. clothing, bags and sports equipment).

Optional

Gadgets, bikes and valuables away from the home

Optional cover for mobile phones, laptops, tablets, watches, jewellery, hearing aids and other high-risk items you take out of your home.

Optional

Accidental damage

Optional cover for unexpected mishaps around the home — such as breakages, spillages or damage caused by you, your guests or wild animals Two levels of cover are available

Optional

Your Questions Answered

An excess is the portion of a claim that you’re responsible for paying. It’s either deducted from your settlement or collected from you if we arrange a repair or replacement. You can find out what excesses you’ll need to pay by logging in to make a claim and selecting your policy in the “Check my cover” section. Your excesses are also listed in your policy documents. 

There are three types of excess: 

  • Compulsory excess – A fixed amount that applies to most claims, based on the type of damage. If your claim includes both Buildings and Contents, a compulsory excess will apply to each. 
  • Special excess – A higher excess that applies to specific events like flood, escape of water, subsidence, landslip, or heave. If both Buildings and Contents are affected, only one special excess applies. 
  • Voluntary excess – An extra amount you choose when buying your policy to lower your premium. If your claim includes both Buildings and Contents, the voluntary excess applies to each.
    • Exception: voluntary excesses do not apply to Flood Re claims. 

You can find your excess amounts in your Policy Schedule or by logging in and selecting your policy in the “Check my cover” section. 

Examples: 

Example 1 – Claim for one type of damage 
Romesh claims for accidental damage to his buildings. 

  • Compulsory excess: £249 
  • Voluntary excess: £150 
    Total excess: £399 

Example 2 – Claim affecting both Buildings and Contents 
Sam’s theft claim involves damage to both buildings and contents. 

  • Buildings excess: £249 compulsory + £150 voluntary 
  • Contents excess: £149 compulsory + £50 voluntary 
    Total excess: £598 

Example 3 – Escape of water affecting both Buildings and Contents 
Frankie’s claim is for escape of water. 

Voluntary excesses: £100 for Buildings + £100 for Contents 
Total excess: £700 

Special excess: £500 (applies once) 

Contents insurance insures all the belongings in your home that are not attached to the property. Contents are the items that you would take with you when you move home. This includes:

Your furniture, rugs, computer, entertainment equipment, cds, dvds, videos, valuables, clothing, personal belongings – even the food in your freezer! You may be asked to specify certain items (such as bikes, electronic gadgets and high risk items) on the policy and you may be asked to make additional security provisions such as locks or a burglar alarm if you live in an area with a high theft rate. 

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 are currently unable to offer personal possessions cover as a standalone product – this can only be purchased as an additional extra option with contents insurance.

We do, but they are covered as electronic gadgets rather than watches.

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