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