Cynical about Under Insurance....

Take a look around your living room.

Take a good look at all of your worldly possessions and now start making a list of all of the items and their value. Compare this to the value that you are insured for on your Home and Contents Insurance and I’ll bet you a fun size Mars bar that you are underinsured.

A lot of people are. According to some estimates the average household in the UK is underinsured by 30%. Imagine not only losing all of your possessions, but also not being able to afford to replace them following a loss from Theft, Fire, Flood etc.

Most insurers will also apply the condition of average, which means that if you have insured for £25,000 but you should have insured for £50,000 you will probably receive less than 50% back on the value of your claim.

Don’t forget to adjust your Contents limit in the event that you inherit a family heirloom, jewellery, furniture or antiques and if you’re unsure about how much to insure them for, engage the services of a valuer.

Many home and contents insurers offer an “Unlimited” contents limit, which can be one way around the issue of under insurance, however if you’re buying online please check the quotation thoroughly to check that you are on the correct basis.

We’re biased, so we are always going to suggest that you engage the services of an insurance broker (preferably us) who can ensure that your policy is set up on the correct basis from day one.

There is a misconception that buying through a broker is more expensive and whilst this may sometimes be the case, the broker does add value and in addition to providing assistance in setting up your policy, the broker is also there to help walk you through the claims process.

We’ll sign off with a belter from Oscar Wilde:-

A cynic is one “…who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing.”