When I was younger, my parent’s house burned halfway down. Items in our attic that we were saving to protect them and other items in the house were ruined either by the fire or the water that was used to put the fire out. Just imagine the things that are in your home could one day be wiped out due to a natural disaster. All of the photo albums, heirlooms and the memories these things evoke could be gone in such a time frame. Content insurance is made for just such a scenario.

I know it is not something that you want to think about but content insurance can help you recover from the lost of your valuables. It won’t bring back the memories that these items have attached to them, but it can replace the items themselves by defraying the cost of replacement.  

 You will find that most content insurance policies will cover all of your possessions in case of theft, flood and fire. Some policies even cover breakage of the items as well. Look around the room, whatever you see is pretty much covered. This means your furniture, electrical equipment, your other household stuff. Some policies also let you put a rider on the policy that includes bicycles, jewelry and even the stuff in your freezer (in case the freezer goes on the fritz and everything melted).

 It is vitally important that you do not undervalue your own items just to get a smaller quote. Sometimes it is even possible to forget some of your items in your house. So the best way to get all of the items included in the policy is to go room by room in the house and write down everything you see. The next thing you should do is go online or go to the store and establish how much it will cost right now to replace that item. Add them all up, give yourself a little cushion and then go out and find the right content insurance for you.

Make sure you read your policy thoroughly. With any insurance policy, there are clauses and exclusions that are typically somewhere in the standard policy documents. Read through the policy page by page. Some policies will exclude antiques from coverage. Others will exclude expensive jewelry or computer equipment. Find out what is excluded and if you need it covered, ask for a rider on the policy. A rider will cost you a bit extra, but it is worth it to know that they are covered from the outset rather than something happen to them and finding out they aren’t covered.

Here are some other insurance sources;

 Shop around locally for a good content insurance policy. Then compare the quotes you get with ones you can get online. Like all insurance, the premiums will vary from company to company and will depend upon how much coverage you are seeking.