A Guide to Contents Insurance

April 26, 2024

What is Contents Insurance?

Home Contents Insurance has your back for all your stuff, whether you're renting or owning your place.

What does contents insurance cover?

Getting a grip on what’s covered can be a bit of a puzzle, but here’s the lowdown: home Contents Insurance covers everything that’d tumble out if your house did a somersault—think clothes, furniture, kitchen gear, and gadgets. It can also cover stuff you take out and about.

Just remember, Contents Insurance isn’t the same as Building Insurance. The latter is your safety net for the actual structure of your home and things like doors and sinks. The contents part of your policy is like a superhero for your stuff, covering damage or theft right at home. With most top-notch Contents Insurance, you’ll get:

• Protection for your belongings against storms, floods, earthquakes, fires, lightning, explosions, theft, riots, and vandalism
• Coverage for food that goes bad if your freezer takes a nosedive
• Reimbursement for any cash stolen from your place (this is capped depending on your insurer)

There’s often a cap on what you can claim, so give your policy a thorough once-over—especially if you’ve got fancy frozen treats or cash stashed at home.

What ISN’T covered by contents insurance?

Even with all that coverage, there are a few things that won’t make the cut, like:

• Damage from plain old wear and tear
• Anything related to terrorism
• Things happening when your place has been empty for over 30 days
• Accidental damage (this can be added for an additional cost, if you do happen to be an accident prone person!)
• Burglaries where there’s no sign of forced entry
• High-value goodies like bikes, jewellery, and tech might need their own extra cover
• Your belongings taken outside the home might need a little extra protection
• Home-based businesses might need their own insurance, especially if you’ve got visitors or stock hanging around