How Much Do You Think Your ENTIRE Home Contents Should Be Insured For?

Recently we had cause to reassess our Home & Contents insurance in the process we realised our estimated value was too low. It was for $105,000. But in reality it would cost more than that to replace everything. We've been given lots of secondhand furniture for instance... maybe we could replace it with secondhand but that's hard to guarantee in terms of availability. You might tell yourself; it's ok, we'll buy a second hand office desk... but when it comes time to source it there isn't anything suitable IYKWIM? so you end up having to buy it new.

Aaaaanyhow. I'm currently under taking the mammoth task of typing up a comprehensive contents document. Listing everything we would need to replace if the house burnt down or if we moved house and the shipping container fell off the ship etc. i know, unlikely... but it will be useful to have for other reasons too. So far it has been an eye opener! :o it's already dawning on me that if we ever had to replace all our things our previous estimate would be waaaay under. I've done our furniture and that alone (for a family of 5) would use it all up. And that doesn't even take into account my gold tipped tweezers (for example) that cost about $30.

So i'm doing everything room by room. Haven't done our clothes yet. When i'm finished i'm going to insert an excel spreadsheet. I'll guessimate the cost of everything and then tally. We have a fairly humble house with only one tiny 40cm black chunky TV etc, one 10 year old car, our most expensive piece of furniture was an IKEA dining table at $1500 (with 8 chairs) so we're not talking big dollars... or are we??? i'll update after i've finished.

Do you think you have adequate contents insurance?

Yes, because I used to work in the industry.

You have to consider how much it would cost to replace EVERYTHING if your house burned down and you lost the lot. It adds up...sheets, towels, clothes, kitchen utensils not to mention things like fridge, microwave, dishwasher, beds, furniture, toys.

I am pedantic about making sure we have adequate coverage. I personally think anyone who doesn't have home and contents insurance is mad. I always shake my head when I see someone on the news whose house has burned down and they say they weren't insured.

Totally agree! Sheets! we have 1000 count linen at about $200 a set... we have 5 sets for our bed alone... that's $1,000 to replace... even before our 3 kids' beds.

I agree: totally mad if you don't at least have a basic coverage.

Would you seriously include a pair of tweezers in your insurance policy? We don't insure all that incidental stuff because you just can quantify it and I think an assessor would think you were a little bit OTT if you put every single item in your house on a policy. Ours is currently valued at around $85,000 but we will have to reassess when it's up for renewal again because we will have some large household purchases this year. Plus we see it as a means to set you up and get you back on your feet again, not to put you in the exact same position you were in before.

I wouldn't place a claim for a set of tweezers... I was just giving that as an example of all the little things you over look. I want to know how much it would cost to replace everything... simple as that. How do you guess something like that unless you actually sit down and look at your bathroom cabinet etc? Do you claim for a digital themometer? Do you claim for a room humidifier? Do you claim for an oil vapouriser? Or your collection of essential oils? (That one is going to be costly i suspect! over 20 bottles) Not individually but how do you guess unless you make a list? I'm not saying everyone make a list... but maybe people should be over guessing to be closer to how realistic the replace cost will be?

i haven't done our house, but have done this at mum's cos i was sure she was well under-insured. she had it at around 60k - when we estimated for basics (not her book collection - lines two walls, or her dvd's) it was up around 135k. her and dad have a LOT of stuff in the shed and i think that's been underestimated too

don't forget if you have antiques then they need to be valued, as well as unique collections. we have one bottle of Bundy that, if i go by ebay sales over the past 2 years, is worth around 900, another over 500. we have two complete sets of limited edition ports - one is valued at over 1000. i know we're JUST insured to cover the basics for now - all that stuff needs to be specially itemised so i've been in contact with the relevant valuers to get help with that so that i can itemise it

if you have a substantial DVD collection, you can put in values in DVD profiler and get an insurance report - i am seriously scared at the value of our DVD's - it's another thing we have to seperately itemise and keep a record of for insurance purposes - the average claim payout for dvd's is only 2k - our collection is worth at least 10 times that!

Excellent points BG!

I haven't done our books yet either. That's going to be a mammoth task. DH and i buy ALOT of books. He collects The Wisden cricketers Almanac... has every copy since 1966 in hard cover. Current ones cost about $135 each... they get more expensive the older they are! eeek!

DH has said he won't replace but a handful of his vinyl (record) collection. He has most of it on CD/Mp3 (which he would claim) but only replace the rare records. Is the limit $2,000 for CDs as well???? oh dear... ETA: he has a few hundred records.

We have ours set high, but I think it's reasonable. We have a 4 brm, 2 lounge house with a shed, and the house & shed are full. Our entertainment system/cd's/dvd's are valued at $15000 for just those items. We also have our jewellery listed separated as those are worth a few $$.
We have a list, always have, and when we buy/sell any furniture/tools we amend the list and if applicable amend the insurance policy.

Well done jodi! :thumbsup: so i'm not so crazy to make a comprehensive list? LOL Do you have a minimum value? Say, every item over a particular figure?

ETA: also we are thinking of keeping a copy of the list off the premises...

Not crazy at all, it's the smart thing to do ;) You can download a blank home contents calculator off most of the insurance websites to give you a start. That's how we got started. When we first did this (which is when we bought our house 4 years ago) we went through every room and valued all the items. It's surprising the amount of things you wouldn't normally insure unless you open every cupboard. Perfume, household electrical items (blender, food processor, vacuum cleaner etc).
When we had DD1, we did it all over again as there were quite a few new items and we wanted to also make sure the value we put on items was still reasonable.

Ah yes, that reminds me... at least we have quite a few items that are baby related that would be sad if they got destroyed but we wouldn't replace because our baby making days are over: the cot, highchair, port-a-cot, change table, baby toys, clothes, etc. So those items are not going on our list. I have though added a few items that we are thinking of getting (kind of to replace the cost of the baby stuff) eg i put a bed-side table for my 3yo on the list because he will need one... we'll be buying one quite soon.

Good point about where to keep the list. If the house burns, you don't want to lose the list as well.

When i was doing my Masters, i would e-mail myself my thesis once a week (or more often if i was writing a lot) so i would be able to access it from wherever if something happened to my computer, memory devices or whatever. As long as you remember where it is kept (what e-mail address, what folder), cyber space is always a good option.

Recently we've had to do a total inventory for an interstate move - both for insurance and so that they can calculate the cost of the move. Happily though, their estimate and our estimate are the same.
There are some really good calculators out there for all the things you might have forgotten.

Thanks again girls... regarding the calculators... yep, i've seen them online. What I plan to do is just keep doing the room-by-room thing and when i think i'm done double check with a calculator. I found that we have alot of strange items that might not be on a calculator...eg my vertical tapestry loom and all my art supplies and DH's guitar sound effects pedals etc. If anyone wants to post a particular calculator that they think is comprehensive then that would be great :)

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Plus we see it as a means to set you up and get you back on your feet again, not to put you in the exact same position you were in before.

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Correct me if I am wrong, Curly, but I am 99% sure that if you are under-insured then your policy usually doesn't fully cover you. For example, your contents is worth $100,000 but you only insure for $80,000. You are 20% under-insured. So when you come to claim on your policy, the company will discount your payout by 20%. So instead of getting $80,000 you will only get $74,000 (ie: 20% less).

So you need to be very careful when setting your insured value.

Bath, to your OP, we have a debate every time we renew our policy - I favour more, DH favours less. But I fill in the forms and arrange payment so I win :)

I know someone who was cleaned out Nd had to claim on their contents INS. When it came to clothes, the insurer went by the number of coathangers in the wardrobe and valued each at 100. Which given most of her clothes were suits and high end was substantially less than her clothes were worth. So now my wir are full of spare hangers

i think Rory is right - if you are under insured, you actual pay out is less by the amount you're underinsured. i have been working with my insurance company to update our insurance (it's a constant thing over the past 18 months or so as i list more of the collections and things)

also take into account things that you may have paid minimal for but are worth a lot more. sales are great for getting linen and books and stuff like that, but to actually replace them it would cost a small fortune. as many have seen, i have quite a collection of Christmas stuff and candle holders and things. most of these are now irreplacable (limited edition stuff) - but i have them insured. my insurance company suggested i keep a list and photographic evidence somewhere that isn't the house. at the moment, that evidence is in mum and dad's fire proof safe as well as our own. we have a copy of their stuff for them as well

That's so true about replacing items bought on special! You sound very organised BG. I'm inspired! :)

I've got to redo mine because I'm about to go on a spending spree to get nice things for our new house. I actually don't know what my $ current contents insurance is for :redface:

we are mega under-insured. it has been the bane of my existence with DH. he hates all things insurance...it suited us AOK before we owned a house and had a couple hundred k in the bank...but now that it is all on the house and he still can't get his head around the fact that there is no other money....grrrrr!!!!

i can't wait until ours is up for renewal cause i will sooo be taking over lol!

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Correct me if I am wrong, Curly, but I am 99% sure that if you are under-insured then your policy usually doesn't fully cover you. For example, your contents is worth $100,000 but you only insure for $80,000. You are 20% under-insured. So when you come to claim on your policy, the company will discount your payout by 20%. So instead of getting $80,000 you will only get $74,000 (ie: 20% less).

So you need to be very careful when setting your insured value.

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This is true.

So while you don't think you will replace items, you still may need to include them in your contents insurance, so you don't run the risk of being under-insured (in the eyes of your insurer, remember, not you!). It's not that you'll be getting extra $$ for them anyway, since even if you include what you believe is everything there's very little chance you'll be over-calculating. Insurance companies estimate that as few as 18% of people who have contents insurance are adequately covered.

Remember you only need to list individual items that are of value, so specific pieces of jewellery (with receipts/valuation certificates), or other significant items. We have our DVDs specified as simply 'DVD collection' with the value that they are worth (so higher than the maximum allowed on the policy if you don't specify, if that makes sense). Take photos of these things too, for your records.

It's actually more likely that you won't be claiming for all of your contents, but to replace some things lost/stolen/damaged (fire, flood, etc).

If you're unsure, can I recommend you check out NRMA Insurance's info on their website. There's a section called 'Understanding Insurance' that includes some downloadable brochures on Insurance Basics and What You Need To Know About Insurance (bottom of this page). These might help to answer some of your questions. (You don't have to be an NRMA customer and these are not about their products, just insurance in general).

We have a list just like the one you're in the process of doing Bath. It's an excel spreadsheet that lists all contents by room and value. I was also careful to over-estimate the value of things just a little and also didn't take into account whether or not I bought it on sale, I listed it at the cost I would pay without it being on sale. We are currently insured for $80,000 and I feel this is adequete for us at the moment, as we too live in quite a humble home, no flat screen tv's etc.

P.S Thanks for reminding me I need to update my list too :)

ok, question (this thread has inspired me to go through and make an actual list rather than guessing!)

do you include heating and airconditioning in home or contents?
and if you have landscaped gardens, where does that go?

Hmm, that's a good question BG.

I've never had to think about that as I've always been a renter, but we're building a house at the moment so those questions will be relevant to me in a few months time.

My first thought would be that both would be part of the cost of the home, not the contents. Things like carpet, curtains etc are usually part of your home insurance so I'm guessing a/c and landscaping would be the same. Don't quote me on it though :)

carpet and curtains - i thought they were contents now house...

hmmm time to go investigating

you'd think i'd know this given my rellos were insurance agents - but they made it too easy for me - just asked a few questions and did it all for me!

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ok, question (this thread has inspired me to go through and make an actual list rather than guessing!)

do you include heating and airconditioning in home or contents?
and if you have landscaped gardens, where does that go?

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not sure about landscaping, but you can put aircon units and heaters under "motor burnout" insurance which is an add on to the contents insurance. the catch is that they have to be under 10 years old to be covered.....only reason i know this is we've just changed over to a different ins company and have opted for that cover :)

ok, i just ran an estimator and i don't know if our house is seriously underinsured on the building side of things now!

we have a large-ish house, i won't like - but the NRMA/RACV estimate said upwards of half a million (almost 600k) to rebuild! and thats basically JUST the house and floor coverings - everything else comes into contents!

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ok, i just ran an estimator and i don't know if our house is seriously underinsured on the building side of things now!

we have a large-ish house, i won't like - but the NRMA/RACV estimate said upwards of half a million (almost 600k) to rebuild! and thats basically JUST the house and floor coverings - everything else comes into contents!

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:o BG - insurance is sooo confusing sometimes!

Wow that's huge BG!

BG: we rent so I am only listing the portable column heater. There is ducted central heating but that's the owners responsibility. No a/c but I'll list our fans.

I'm actually enjoying making this list... Fascinating how many items I had never thought about replacement value... We were given our large Bbq for instance. I'm not listing every toy though, just the expensive ones and collections like the Lego and train sets.

i think i need some advice about the house insurance - might get in contact with my aunt when she gets home from holidays - i get that it replaces house, shed, carport, verandah, pergola, fences etc etc - but still, almost 600k sounds really really REALLY expensive to replace a house built in the 90's

BG - my new house is 239sqm and I've insured it for $750K. Now this was a bit of a guesstimate but when I was looking at building a house, the sort of thing I like is $2,000 - 4,000 per sqm. So I figured $3000 would be safe. I like good (ie. expensive) architecture - vaulted ceilings etc. but am willing to compromise on finishes. Then I allowed a bit extra for the fact we'd have to rent somewhere else in the meantime.

So it's really how long is a piece of string question because you can build for much less than I've allowed but I'd rather pay a few hundred extra a year for insurance and have peace of mind that if the absolute worst happened, I could build a house that I like/be happy in.

BG it doesn't matter what age the house is, it needs to be insured for what it would cost today to rebuild that size house. Taking into consideration u have a large house and all the additions, verandas etc 600k sounds reasonable.

For your info, the house we're building is costing 300k alone with no verandas, fences etc so it seems right to me :)

aw crud!
i was thinking it was a way over estimation of the value - we live rather rural so things just aren't as exxy out here i don't think. oh well - time to get myself doing some research. wonder if i can get much done while DD sleeps through the days....

This has prompted me to recalculate ours, thanks!

I've tried to tally everything up, with fairly generous estimates (though in many cases complete guesses) and it still comes in under 60k... we don't have much and no fancy stuff, but does that still seem quite low?

Can I ask, roughly, what you assign to clothing and personal effects...? I don't have it in me to actually tally it all up individually

have a rough think of how much you spend on your clothes - and roughly how much of each there is

the way i worked it out was to work out how many pants (broken down into tracksuits/jeans/crops/work pants), tops (singlets/tees/long sleeve/work/dress), dresses, suits - at a guess. then worked out what i'd average pay for them (20 for trakkies etc) - i will have to have pics of my extremely overpacked wardrobe for evidence as i used to sell clothes and have a VERY extensive wardrobe - ranging over a few sizes.

keep in mind things like pj's, underwear (for bigger busted chickies, you're paying a lot for a bra etc) and factor that in. you can do a rough, but reasonable guesstimate of your clothes.



also, dont' forget things like doonas, sleeping bags, pillows (i get migraines if i have a crap pillow, so i have to pay about 100 for my pillows!), blankets, sleeping bags, spare linen. i think i might even have to insure the MCN stash lol

Oh my, I just did a quick (and it was really quick) calculation on the RACV site based on number of bedrooms, number of people and it's come out as $137K :wall:

I didn't even put in DP's photographic stuff or the 20 boxes of books we've got in storage. I don't even think of ourselves as having much 'stuff' - one TV about 7 years old.

I've got the linen...will have to think some more on the clothes, thanks BG

Camera - missed that!

I did the same test, it reckoned 68k...I guess i'm not too far off.

ohh i am inspired to do a full list now!