Contents insurance compensates the policy holder for goods and possessions that are not permanent fixtures of your home. But hold on, this is not always the case despite the common perception that contents insurance is the easiest form of insurance to calculate.
For example, if your kitchen caught on fire and completely destroyed the room, what would happen next? Well, the policy holder would have to fill out two separate claims. The first claim would represent the kitchen units and any other built-in appliances. On the second claim you would list off appliances like a refrigerator or dishwasher. You might be surprised by that fact, but those two appliances are not considered an integral part of the kitchen and can be moved.
Fires, floods, and theft represent the three primary reasons for why household goods are damaged. Also worth mentioning are trees falling on your house or vehicles colliding into your wall. Make sure you check with the insurance company to find out exactly what disasters they do and do not cover.
Insurance companies will also consider "add-ons" which incorporate coverage of insuring goods stored outside the house, such as in a garage. Factors that commonly affect house contents insurance costs are the location of the property, its security systems, whether it is left un-attended for long periods, and history of previous claims among others.
Another area you want to guarantee is covered is the replacement value. This differs from the current market value in those extremely important valuables such as antiques and jewelry will be at least covered at replacement or emotional value if they are unable to be replaced. Expect higher premiums however if you wish to protect these coveted items.
However, current market value is when the insurance company assesses home possessions to current value and not what it was worth five to ten years ago. So if you have possessions which are quite old and you want to protect their worth, make sure you get replacement coverage.
It's a simple formula. Pay a higher premium and your goods are covered much better than if you pay a low or very cheap premium. If you really want strong protection, you must pay a lot even if the chances of destruction or theft are very low.
Unless you have a lot of extremely valuable goods, stay with a fairly low premium. Chances of your home getting destroyed are low and the value of your property might not be that much to begin with. Keep in mind that an average family making over $200,000 pays on average 3% of that number back to insurance companies.
