Your Home is Your Castle – So Get it Protected!

It used to be an inalienable right of every Briton that a ‘man’s home was his castle’. He was the boss in his own home and he could admit only whom he wanted to his property. However, in the 21st century that is no longer true as there are now an estimated 1,043 different state powers under which government inspectors can legally gain access to your home, without your permission.

Furthermore, there are also laws to prevent you doing whatever you want inside your property, but those interesting facts aside it is still true that the contents of the average Briton’s home often contain the owner’s most treasured possessions. Sometimes that could include heirlooms or prized collections, but most will include expensive items such as furniture, fabrics and electrical equipment. The cost of replacing those items can be significantly high, yet surprisingly one in four households in the UK are not covered by home contents insurance, according to the latest figures from the Association of British Insurers.

During 2007 over £6.7billion was paid out through property insurance claims, highlighting exactly how much is lost, destroyed and stolen each year, which displays just how important it is to have property and contents cover. Covering your possessions with insurance means that should the worst happen and your home is burgled, then you can at least get recompense for your stolen property. It is important to understand that the cost of premiums tends to be one of the cheapest for any insurance cover.

Even more surprising is that some uninsured householders choose instead to pay for relatively expensive mobile phone insurance, up to as much as £5 per handset per month. However, they could instead purchase home contents insurance, which often also includes cover for all their contents as well as mobile phones in the home. Indeed, dependent upon the number of phone owners in the home and the value of contents to be insured, a home insurance quote could prove comparable or even cheaper than the cost of mobile phone insurance!

Age Concern estimate that 20.5million householders that already possess home contents insurance are also paying for separate cover on their mobile phones. Therefore it may be worth checking your contents policy to establish whether cover for mobile phones is provided; it could save you a considerable sum over the year as there is no need to have two forms of insurance for the same items.

However, if you are amongst the one in four that does not possess home contents insurance, take a minute to look around your home and total up exactly how much it would cost to replace your personal possessions. In that case ask yourself the question, could you easily afford to replace them if they were stolen or damaged?

About the Author

Isla Campbell writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.