You don’t just need insurance to protect your home’s structure. Your personal belongings inside your house also need protection. Whether it’s your electronics, jewellery, artwork, or even your vintage toy collection, all can be damaged or lost when floods, fires, or a theft hits your home. If they’re not protected by insurance, you’ll be left to foot the bill yourself.
That’s where contents insurance can help you. Contents insurance gives you peace of mind since you’ll receive compensation if your belongings are damaged or lost. Even if it can’t replace the exact item you lost, your insurance money can likely soften the financial and emotional blow.
What Is Contents Insurance?
Contents insurance is a type of insurance that protects your belongings and personal possessions. It’s usually a component of home, condo, and tenant insurance. Note that the “contents” here refers to your belongings, whether they’re inside or outside your home. That means contents insurance doesn’t just protect items that stay in the house but also things that can be taken outside, like bicycles and jewellery.
How Does Contents Insurance Work?
Contents insurance works similarly to other types of insurance. If your belongings get damaged in covered perils, the insurer will provide financial compensation for the items lost or damaged. Covered perils may include fires, vandalism, thefts, water damage, and other things that may damage or otherwise compromise your belongings.
However, contents insurance policies have a coverage limit. They also have sub-limits for certain types of items like cash and jewellery. If you need extra protection, you can purchase policy endorsements, which will raise your premiums.
Something important for renters to remember: Your landlord’s insurance won’t protect your belongings. To protect the contents of your rented property, you need contents insurance, which you can usually get from tenant insurance.
What Is an Example of Contents Insurance For a Homeowner and a Tenant?
Contents insurance for homeowners and tenants differ, so we’ll cover both examples in this section.
Is Tenant Insurance and Contents Insurance the Same Thing?
Tenant insurance and contents insurance are not the same thing.
However, contents insurance coverage is a part of your tenant insurance policy, among other types of insurance protection like third-party liability and additional living expenses if you have to live elsewhere while your rental property is being repaired.
What Are the Main Types of Contents Insurance?
There are two major types of contents insurance, based on how you get compensated after a claim:
How Much Contents Insurance Do I Need?
Generally, you need enough contents insurance protection to replace all your belongings. That means you need to calculate how much your belongings cost and get similarly-valued contents insurance coverage. You can make a home inventory list to help estimate how much contents insurance you need.
Insuring all of your belongings is important because you may need to pay out-of-pocket to replace lost items if you don’t have enough contents insurance coverage. You may need extra endorsements or protection if you have many valuable items at home. You can also consult an insurance broker about how much content insurance you need to protect all your valuable items.
How to Create an Inventory List for Your Contents Insurance
A home inventory list keeps track of all your belongings. This helps you when getting contents insurance because you know how much coverage you need, and it’ll also help you when making a claim because you know what items are lost or damaged as well as their values.
There are many ways to create a home inventory list for contents insurance, but here are common, useful tips to follow:
- Start with a small area, then move on to other rooms in your home. You can also start by listing off your recent purchases, then moving on with older items.
- Document your items with photos and videos, then back them up in the cloud.
- Keep purchase receipts and save item serial numbers.
- Write brief descriptions of each item you catalogue.
- Use categories to organize similar items.
- Include belongings kept outside your house and in storage boxes.
How Much Does Contents Insurance Cost?
The cost of contents insurance is generally included in your home or tenant insurance policy. The cost range for tenant and home insurance is quite broad because it can cost anywhere from $350 to $3,500 annually. Your annual insurance cost will vary based on factors like your home’s condition, size, and more.
Consider speaking to an insurance broker to get a good idea of how much contents insurance will cost you. You can also visit our home and tenant insurance pages for more information.
How to File a Contents Insurance Claim?
To file a contents insurance claim, you need to contact your insurer after your belongings are lost or damaged. Here’s a short step-by-step guide to filing a contents insurance claim:
- Record details about the event and list what items are lost or damaged. Support your claim with photos and notes.
- Contact your insurance company representative.
- File a proof of loss form if needed.
- Follow your insurer’s directions to complete the claims process.
The claim process may differ from insurer to insurer, so contact your insurance company for detailed information on how to file a claim.
Commonly Asked Questions About Contents Insurance
What does “contents limit” or exclusions mean?
Contents limit is the maximum amount of money your insurer will pay, usually detailed in your home or tenant insurance policy. If you want to get a higher contents limit, you can buy extra coverage.
Meanwhile, exclusions are conditions where your insurer won’t provide compensation for damaged belongings. For instance, your insurer may have exclusions for property damage caused intentionally by the owner or by vermin.
Are perils included in contents insurance?
Some perils are included in your contents insurance, usually outlined in your home or tenant insurance policy. Perils include, but aren’t limited to fire, severe weather, theft, and explosion. Depending on your area, you may want to add coverage for extra perils not covered in your policy like earthquakes.
Read more about how home insurance can protect your house from perils like fires, water leaks, and floods.
What things are included in a contents insurance policy?
A contents insurance policy protects belongings that aren’t permanently attached to your home’s structure. Here’s a non-exhaustive list of items protected by your contents insurance policy:
– Furniture
– Clothing
– Electronics
– Appliances
– Toys
– Decorations
– Musical instruments
– Jewellery
What things are excluded from a contents insurance policy?
Things that may be excluded in your contents insurance policy include items such as:
– Cryptocurrency
– Data
– Illegal items
– Motorized vehicles
– Certain types of electronics
– Certain types of sporting equipment
– Anything specifically excluded in your insurance policy
You can still get insurance protection for some of these items by purchasing insurance endorsements and add-ons.
Is jewellery covered with contents insurance?
Jewellery is covered with contents insurance but may have a coverage cap. If you want to exceed that cap, you can purchase add-ons or endorsements.
Does contents insurance cover theft?
Contents insurance policies cover theft up to the specified coverage limit.
Are kitchen appliances covered with contents insurance?
Contents insurance cover your kitchen appliances up to the policy’s coverage limit.
What are some additional coverage endorsements for contents insurance?
Additional coverage endorsements for contents insurance include:
– Earthquake insurance
– Overland water insurance
– Sewer backup insurance
– Bicycle insurance
– Jewellery insurance