High Risk Contents Insurance
It’s a fact of life that some of your belongings are more attractive than others to thieves because they’re easily stolen and resold and – usually – because they’re quite high in value. We call these high risk items, and we ask you to specify these on your policy if they’re worth more than a certain amount or if you want them to be covered outside the home.
What are high risk items?
High risk items include:
- Engagement rings.
- Wedding rings.
- Watches.
- Other jewellery.
- Artwork.
- Collectibles such as coin, medal and stamp collections.
- Mobility scooters.
Clocks, furs, gold, silver or other precious metal (including plated) items, guns, medical equipment, and ride on or robotic lawnmowers also count as high risk items.
How do I get insurance for high-risk items?
High risk items individually, or as part of a collection, worth less than £1,500 are covered as standard (except for accidental damage which is optional) on Homeprotect contents insurance policies up to a maximum of £5,000 or 20% of the contents sum insured, whichever is lower, inside the home.
If any of your high risk items are worth £1,500 or more or if you want them to be covered outside your home, you need to specify these on your policy, telling us what they are and how much they’re worth.
Don’t forget to let us know about any electronic gadgets and bikes worth £1,500 or more you have too.
Getting the value right
When you add high-risk items to your contents insurance, it’s important to make sure that they are properly valued and not underinsured.
Key points
It is your responsibility to inform your insurer of specific items and their value so that you are properly insured and will not be left out of pocket in the event of a claim. Make sure that you:
- Keep the receipts as proof of the purchase price.
- Have valuations updated regularly and store the certificates in a safe place. It is recommended that jewellery is valued every two years by an accredited jeweller.
- Keep a record of your high risk items, with photographs and a description, as these details can help insurers to process a claim more easily.
- Store your valuable jewellery and watches in a safe at home when you’re not wearing them. Never leave valuables on display where they can be seen by opportunist burglars.
When making a claim, bear in mind that you’ll be liable to pay any excess already stipulated under the policy terms and this could be more than the cost of replacing the jewellery or other valuable yourself.
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What’s covered by contents insurance?
Having contents insurance means you won’t be out of pocket if you need to repair or replace your belongings after they’ve been stolen, damaged or destroyed.
What we offer
Quick fix for uncontrollable leaks
Have a home emergency, such as electricity failure, faulty locks or vermin infestation? With the 24/7 Home Emergency cover, which we provide as standard, you can typically get an engineer at your home within four hours. And if you’re worried about an uncontrollable leak in your home, we aim to have an emergency plumber to you within two hours.
Extreme weather conditions may extend response time. Policy terms and claim limits apply.
New for old
Where we replace an item, we will do our best to meet the original specification on a ‘new for old’ basis. If we can’t find an exact replacement, we’ll offer you a suitable alternative, or a full cash settlement.
Legal advice
We provide Legal Protection cover as standard, giving you access to telephone legal advice on any personal legal issue, under the laws of the UK, any European Union country, the Isle of Man, Channel Islands, Switzerland and Norway.
What isn’t included?
Lost items.
Items stolen from unoccupied vehicles.
Damage caused by pets.
The cost of repairing or replacing items following a mechanical or electrical fault.
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Contents Insurance Cover Levels
Our contents insurance is designed to protect your belongings against insured events such as fire, storm, flood, escape of water, theft, malicious damage, subsidence, landslip or heave.
Contents cover
Covering the value of the possessions you could take with you when moving home, such as furniture, clothing, valuables, appliances, fittings, entertainment equipment, gadgets and bikes, following an insured loss. Cover provided on a new for old basis.
from £25,000
Alternative accommodation
Covers the cost of alternative accommodation for you and your pets, together with reasonable expenses (e.g. travel, food, laundry) if you can’t live in your home (or where you’ve been advised to evacuate) due to an insured loss.
up to £10,000
Home emergency
Covers sudden, unexpected emergencies, such as uncontrollable water leaks, that require immediate corrective action to prevent or limit damage to your home, or make your home secure. Two levels of cover are available, for different types of insured loss.
up to £500
Family legal protection
Covers legal costs following an insured loss. There must be reasonable prospects of winning and the incident must have occurred during the policy term. Two levels of cover are available, for different types of insured loss.
up to £25,000
Liability cover
Covers damages and claimants’ costs and expenses for your legal liability in the event of accidental death, injury or illness to a third party, or damage to property belonging to a third party.
up to £5 million
Personal possessions
Covers items likely to be worn, carried or used by you away from your home (e.g. bags, clothes and sports equipment) in the event of physical damage or theft. Cover provided anywhere in the world.
Optional
Gadgets, bikes and valuables away from the home
Cover for electronic gadgets (e.g. mobile phones, laptops, tablets etc), bikes (including electrically assisted bikes), valuables (e.g. watches and jewellery), equipment (e.g. hearing aids) and other expensive or high risk items that you take out of your home.
Optional
Accidental damage
Covers sudden, unexpected and unforeseen events around the house (e.g. spillages or breakages) that result in physical damage and which was caused by you, your guests, a third party or wild animals. Two levels of cover are available.
Optional
Your Questions Answered
In most cases, they are covered up to a certain maximum per claim if you make sure the value of these items are included in the value of contents to be insured. You can find out more about our garage insurance here, and our shed insurance. Please note that there are some items that we can’t insure such as boats and water skis, please refer to the policy booklets for full details.
Not unless you have taken out our personal possessions cover. This cover is an optional extra that you can purchase with your policy. Under our Homeprotect policy, the personal possessions option covers your personal belongings against theft or physical damage anywhere in the world.
If you are taking these possessions overseas, cover is included for up to 90 days each year. Any individual items worth £1,500 or more and any bike, electronic gadget or high risk item will need to be specified on the policy.
We consider jewellery to be a high risk item. As standard we have a limit of £5,000 (or 20% of your contents sum insured, whichever is lower) for high risk items which are individually worth less than £1,500. If you have lots of jewellery (or other types of high risk item) which are individually worth less than £1,500 then you can contact us and we can request an increase in cover from our underwriters. Alternatively you can choose to specify items on your policy which means they are covered independent of the high risk item limit.
If an item of jewellery is worth more than £1,500 it will need to be specified on your policy.
No, the only items you need to specify on your policy for cover within your home are items worth £1,500 or more each, if they are classed as “high risk” which are:
- Clocks
- Coin collections
- Furs
- Gold, silver and other precious metals (including plated items)
- Guns
- Jewellery and watches
- Medals
- Medical equipment (including hearing aids)
- Ride on or robotic lawnmowers
- Stamp collections
- Wheelchairs or mobility scooters
- Works of art
Please also specify any mobile phones, smart phones, laptops, tablets and pedal cycles worth £1,500 or more.
An excess is the amount you need to contribute towards the cost of a claim. It is typically deducted from the final claims settlement, as opposed to an amount you need to pay up front. Typically, the higher the agreed excess, the lower the monthly premiums. A standard excess typically applies and a policyholder can supplement this with an additional voluntary excess, as a way to reduce their premium.
Take your jewellery to a registered valuer, such as one who is a member of the Institute of Registered Valuers. They can provide you with a valuation and also a detailed description of each piece, which also sets out how the value has been determined.
In the event of a claim, you may be asked to provide evidence of value and ownership, such as purchase receipts or valuation certificates. It’s essential to provide this documentation for any high-risk items that you’ve specified on your policy, such as jewellery or watches.
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