As a tenant, you expect your landlord to take responsibility for the building in which you live, after all – it’s their property at the end of the day. However, when you move into a rented property, it’s likely that you will be taking a lot of your own possessions with you, especially if the home is unfurnished. Should something happen to the property, such as a fire or severe flooding, while your landlord’s insurance will cover the cost of the building and its fixtures and fittings, it likely won’t account for your personal assets. This means that without insurance, you will need to cover the cost of repairing or replacing these out of your own pocket.
Home Contents Insurance
While tenants do not need buildings insurance, it’s worth investing in contents insurance to ensure you have financial protection in place if something happens to your assets while living in a rented home. It doesn’t matter how careful you are, there’s always the risk that your possessions could be stolen or damaged and replacing these can be expensive.
Specified Item Cover
If you have contents that are worth more than standard contents policy cover, then you will need to protect these with specified item cover to ensure they are protected for their full value. This is often used for high value bicycles, jewellery and instruments.
Contents Insurance in a house or flat share
It can be tricky to get contents insurance when living in a house share situation as not all insurers want to cover for just one room in a property. As, typically, sharing a home does tend to increase the risk of damage to contents inside the home, this type of insurance can come with a higher premium than contents insurance for a sole tenant. If you do choose to opt for this type of insurance, you will need to ensure to install a lock on your door to remain covered for theft and should be aware that if your contents are damaged/stolen in a communal area, it’s likely they won’t be covered.
You also have the option to get a policy with your housemates to cover for the whole property. While this option works for many people, it does come with added risks. For example, if another housemate makes a claim on your policy, it will affect your premium and when you move out of the property, you will need to report any claim made on the policy – even if it wasn’t your own – when taking out a new policy for the next five years.
Do I need contents insurance?
While contents insurance isn’t a requirement and you can rent a home without it, it’s certainly a good idea to consider it. Think about whether you would be able to replace your contents should something happen to the property that you’re living in or if it would set you back financially. Contents insurance can give you the peace of mind that you need.
If you’re interested in finding out more about contents insurance and getting a quote, Prospero can help. As independent brokers we’re not tied to any single contents insurer so we will scour the market to find the right policy for you. Just call us on 0800 689 1370 to find out more.