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What is covered
Whereas buildings insurance
covers the fabric of your home (including
certain fixtures and fittings such as kitchen
and bathroom units), contents insurance covers
the moveable things in your home – including
money – which belong to you and the
members of your family who live with you.
Contents insurance policies cover your belongings
either on an indemnity basis or, more commonly
these days, on a new-for-old basis.
Indemnity cover means that your claims will
have something knocked off for wear and tear.
If you choose this type of cover (rare these
days), you should be prepared to replace items
with second-hand goods or make up the difference
between the new and second-hand price out
of your own pocket.
New-for-old means that stolen or destroyed
items can be replaced with brand new ones,
so your claims should be met in full unless
the insurer insists on repair rather than
replacement, if this is a feasible solution.
However, some items – such as clothes
and bed linen – are automatically covered
on an indemnity basis, even though all your
other possessions may have new-for-old cover.
Most standard policies will cover your belongings
while they are in your home against damage
or loss caused by:
• Fire and smoke (but not smoke damage
on its own)
• Lightning
• Explosion
• Earthquakes (e.g. a tremor could cause
an expensive ornament to fall off the mantelpiece)
• Storms or flooding
• Subsidence, heave or landslip
• Any sort of vehicle or animal crashing
into your home
• Aircraft or things falling from them
• Falling trees, lampposts, telegraph
poles or parts of them
• Theft or attempted theft – cover
for replacing stolen items, not repairing
damage as a result of forced entry
• Riot - for which there is an exact
meaning in law and a time limit of seven days
for making a claim
• Action by vandals and other ‘malicious
persons’ (in the industry jargon)
• Water overflowing or escaping from
water tanks and pipes
• Leaking oil escaping from heating
systems
As part of the standard
package on many policies, you will usually
find that, up to specific limits, you will
be covered for:
• Your legal liability
as occupier of your home (e.g. if a tile falls
off your roof and injures a passer-by). Damage
or injury that your pets cause will not be
covered unless you specifically ask for this
– in which case the premium may go up,
depending on your type of cover.
• Damage to satellite dishes, and television
and radio aerials. Any damage caused to your
home by these items (say a falling dish wrecks
your front porch) is covered by your buildings
policy.
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