Insuring individual items

YOU MAY PREFER INSURING INDIVIDUAL ITEMS INSTEAD OF YOUR HOME CONTENTS

Advances in technology have enabled insurers to move beyond the traditional one-size-fits-all blanket approach

IN THE past, young people in rented dwellings owning just a few things would probably not have considered taking out home contents insurance. It would only have appeared on their radar when they bought their first home and started to fill it with shiny new appliances and furniture. That’s changing fast, with younger people now starting to think about contents insurance sooner than they previously would have.

There are two reasons for this, says Ernest North, co-founder at AI-driven car, home and contents insurance provider, Naked. The first is the fact that many young people own expensive items they cannot live without: for example, a mountain bike they use for leisure and exercise, a smartphone, or a MacBook they may use to earn a freelance income.

The second is the arrival of affordable and easy-to-buy insurance products designed for standalone items. “It used to be impossible or extremely costly to insure most personal items on a standalone basis. Now anyone can get a quote and buy cover for a single item online within seconds. This has made insurance accessible to a wider market,” says North.

It would still be wise to get quotes for full home cover and for standalone insurance for your possessions to see what suits your needs best.

YOU NEED TO BEAR THE FOLLOWING IN MIND

● The cost of insuring multiple items in a home contents policy will generally be lower than buying separate standalone cover for each item. It makes sense to get full home cover if you’re looking to insure more than one or two items, and then to add your portable possessions to the policy.

● A home contents policy can cover the cost of items that are often overlooked, such as clothing, small appliances, and kitchen utensils – one only appreciates how expensive these are if it becomes necessary to replace them all at once after a robbery or fire.

● Home contents policies usually include personal liability cover. Personal liability is when you are held legally responsible for causing harm to someone else or damage to their property. Personal liability cover protects you financially and legally if a lawsuit or claim is brought against you.

● Home insurance cover includes benefits such as emergency home assistance – for example, it may cover the cost of a plumber if your geyser bursts or an emergency security guard while your gates are being fixed after a break-in.

● You will pay only one excess per claim, even if many of your things are stolen or broken in one incident. If your bike and smartphone are insured on standalone policies and both are stolen, you’ll pay an excess for each.

ADVANTAGES OF STAND ALONE INSURANCE

● It’s quick and easy to get a binding quote online. You can buy it within minutes if you’re happy with the quote.

● Getting standalone insurance is more transparent and often cheaper than buying it along with a product purchase from the retailer – for example, cellphone insurance along with your new mobile contract.

● You can adjust the excess per item to suit your needs – the higher the excess, the lower the premium and vice versa. On items where you think the risk is very low, you may want to choose a high excess.

● Digital insurance providers with low overheads may offer cheaper cover than traditional insurers who need to cover the costs of their infrastructure.

Supplied by Naked

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