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Really think about how much everything would cost to replace, I kept mine down because I thought it would bump the price up but contents is so cheap - mine is $45 a month and thats for a bout $50K I think! We also have pet cover included which is $5 a month and covers the little fur ball if he breaks a leg or something (been there...paid $3000). It's so worth it. Ours also covers anything in the car whether the car is at the house or not.
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yes ours covers the pram and baby bag and carseats too so sorta the baby things are double covered hehe
Registered User
definitely look for an insurer that has an "away from house" UNSPECIFIED amount of cover. so if you're out and your mobile gets nicked, pram gets damaged etc - the particular items don't need to have been itemised. some make you specify what you want covered away from the property - including their value. with DH being a truckie, the stuff he takes with him varies week to week, so we have a blanket amount that is covered away from home. it really does make life easier.
if you have big collections or unusuallly high valued collections (i have nearly 1000 DVD's, DH has car and truck collections, a massive collection of specialty alcohol) these can go under your general insurance, but it's a good idea to provide a list with values to your insurer. if you have something particularly valuable that is difficult to replace (our hall stand is nearly 200 years old and would be impossible to replace new for old), itemise it.
our insurance is due for renewal in the next 6 weeks i think, and i'll be shopping around. i'm happy enough with who we're with, but it doesn't feel like everything is covered the way it should be. i have family who, until last year, were in the insurance industry and are helping me to find the best cover (and to know what to tell them to make sure we're covered properly)
also, being that you're not on a huge income (hell, sometimes even if you are) - talk about fortnightly/monthly payments. for one, it makes budgeting soooo much easier - for another, i've never been without cover. if i don't make any adjustments to my policy when it's due for renewal, they just alter the payments each month to cover the new policy. i've been doing it this way for about 10 years, and never had my car or contents (and house for about six of those years) uninsured. i don't miss the money coming out cos its not a huge amount each month
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Some insurance companys will not insure you if they view you to be living in "shared accomodation". I know you guys arent but be prepared if the silly person on the phone deems you to be.
RACQ might be different though, I know RACV are one in Vic who will insure without asking discrimatory questions.
If you log on to one of their websites, there is often questionairees on their and even contents estimators tools, that go through room by room to help you put a proper value on your contents.
Clothing is one that people often understimate. I know someone whos house was cleaned out - they cam home and everything was gone, someone had just got a removalist can and taken everything. What they didnt take, were the hangers in the wardrobe. And the insurers based their clothing estimate on the number of hangers in there - so now I always have lots of spares.
Also remmeber you need to insure for how much it will cost to replace the item - which could be more than what you paid.
Moderator
Check how much they do cover. I checked mine and they only cover $1000 for DVD's and CDs. So DH is debating whether to contact them and see how much is costs to get a higher coverage for those items.
Oh dear rayray, basing on hangers!! Most of my stuff is folded on shelves, hope they count that.
To be honest when I looked at insurance, I look at what is needed to cover replacing most of the stuff, not all of it. There is really some items that I just would not bother getting again. I know I would not replace all my clothes, dvd collections, books etc I would just want to buy what I need and what I really, really want again. I don't want to be paying a lot extra per year, just to replace items that I am hanging onto because I can't make the decision to get rid of them iykwim.
Registered User
Also, make sure that you do not underestimate the amount of coverage you need. It is better to be generous! If you are deemed to be underinsured (and you have lost everything) you will not get the full amount you are insured for (every insurer is different on the amount they pay out, but you are penalised). That means, if you have taken out insurance for say $50K, but the assessor thinks it would actually cost $70K to replace everything, then they will only give you a %age of what you were covered for (80% for eg, which would mean a payout of only $40K).
It is better to be generous and even over-estimate, than take a chance that you won't get what you've been paying cover for. It is to stop people under-insuring.
Astrid - I just read your post - please check your policy as it sounds like they would consider that under-insuring!
Last edited by Jennifer13; February 13th, 2009 at 09:33 AM.
Registered User
If you lost everything - as the person I knew did, they even took rugs off the floor, how would the insurer know what the total contents value was? If it was just by asking you and compainring to your policy, wouldnt you just omit the things you didnt want replaced?
Moderator
What is the problem with underinsuring? Isn't that just my problem? If I have $100k worth of items, but only insured for $80k (for example), then that is my loss. I have not come across claims being denied based on under insuring, only when people have tried to claim more than what they actually have. BTW we are fully insured, except the for the $1000 cap on DVDs, that wont cover the replacement of all of them. House rebuilding is unlimited
Last edited by Astrid; February 13th, 2009 at 10:09 AM.
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