In the countdown to Christmas the advertising urging us to buy the very latest gadgets comes at us thick and fast and is pretty relentless.
There is little doubt than that come December 25th homes up and down the country will be groaning under the weight of new computers, laptops, phones and games consoles.
And I’m willing to bet many houses will have been tempted by a huge new television to watch all the festive programmes and maybe even a fancy new cooker or coffee-making machine for all those Christmas meals!
All well and good, I hear you say…
But with so much new hardware coming into the home, it’s worth checking that you’ve got it all insured properly because, sadly, this time of year is also a busy one for burglars.
Far too many people only discover AFTER a burglary that their home and contents insurance cover falls way short of all the expensive items they have at home.
Remember, if you are under-insured it can be a costly mistake to make.
For instance, if your home contents insurance covers you for £10,000, and then you are burgled and find £20,000 worth of property was stolen, you were under-insured and it will hit you hard. Your insurance company will say you were only insured for 50% of your contents and will only pay 50% of your policy cover – £5,000!
The same applies if your building insurance covers you for £150,000 and the cost of rebuilding your home after a fire is £300,000, again the insurer will say you under-insured your property by 50% and will only pay you £75,000!
Years ago, you will have taken out your home and contents insurance and forgotten about it. Since then the flat-screen TVs, computers, iPads and so on have been arriving and bumping up the value of property in your home.
Some insurance companies do put minimum cover on policies, so you might automatically be covered for, say, £40,000 worth of contents and £500,000 on your building.
But many don’t and it is easy to be under-insured, especially if you take out a “one size fits all” policy online and are tempted to keep your premium down.
Your home insurance is a one-year contract so why not check it every year? It’s also something that needs looking at very carefully to make sure it suits your needs
When I look at my clients’ insurance I look at all their needs and make sure to pick out the right policy for them from a wide range of insurance products on the market.
Give me a call and I’ll make sure there are no nasty insurance surprises waiting for you…