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There are so many different home insurance providers on the market that it can be difficult to know which provider and policy to opt for. Many people choose home insurance based on the price, but this may not be the best one for their needs. Unfortunately, this is often only discovered after they have made a claim. How do you make sure that you get the best home insurance policy for your own needs from the outset? Here are the things you should be looking for when choosing your policy.
Excess
The excess is the amount you will have to pay before you can claim on your insurance policy. Some providers will offer you a low monthly premium but make you pay a high excess. This means that if you need to make a claim you will have to pay a bigger bill yourself before the insurance company pay out. This can be expensive. It may be a better option to choose a slightly higher monthly premium and a lower excess as this can make the cost more manageable.
Amount of Cover
Insurance premiums tend to be cheaper if you limit how much cover you need. For example, insuring the contents of your home for £30,000 will give you a cheaper monthly premium than insuring them for £50,000. This will be fine if you have £30,000 of contents or less and you review your policy annually. However, you should remember that, in the event of a claim, you will need to replace your old contents with new ones and prices may have risen since you took out your policy. This could leave you underinsured. It may be better for you to pay a little extra for a policy that covers you for more money, or better still, opt for a policy with unlimited cover so that you can’t be underinsured.
Add Ons
The cheaper the policy, the less frills you are likely to be offered. This means that if you need a very basic policy, your home insurance quotes are likely to be very reasonable. However, this could leave you without insurance when you need it. For example, some insurance companies offer you cover for things you take outside the home. You may not think you need this but once you add up the value of your mobile phone, the contents of your wallet, and your love of designer handbags, this can add up. You should consider whether you do actually need the policy add-ons rather than simply opting for the cheapest monthly payment.
Individual Items
Most insurance companies will insure contents up to a certain value and if you need more cover for individual items then you will need to list these separately. This is likely to increase your monthly premium but if you have high-value items in your home they will only be replaced if they are listed. You should consider the individual value of things such as engagement rings and watches when deciding if you need to pay a premium for individual items.
When considering the best home insurance policy for you, it is important to think about the type of cover you need as well as the monthly premium. That way you won’t have a nasty surprise if you need to make a claim.