Insurable assets come in two main groups – physical assets, such as house and contents, and personal assets, such as your life and ability to earn an income.
Both types of Insurance cover are important to get right, to reduce your chances of financial difficulty in case of a loss. Here, we are going to look at how to get the cover right for your physical assets.
House insurance
If you own a house, it’s probably insured – but is it insured for the right amount? In fact, do you know how to check this?
Many insurers have calculators that will help you work out the right sum insured, based on the floor area of your house and estimated costs to rebuild your house to a similar style and standard.
However, with building costs on the rise, it is a good idea to review your cover, at least annually, to make sure it is keeping up with inflation. While you are reviewing it, make sure you have got everything covered that you need. For example, have you included the deck area, fences, retaining walls and garage space? Taking a few minutes to check that your house insurance covers you for everything it needs to could be well worth it at claim time.
Car insurance
If having full cover is not within your budget, at least consider having third-party cover. ‘Third-party’ covers you for damage to another vehicle, caused by your negligence. Even if you are budget conscious, the cost of third-party cover will be much cheaper than paying for damage to the Ferrari down the road.
Have full cover? Don’t forget to check what you are actually insured for. If you were to replace your exact vehicle make and model, how much would it cost? That should give you a guide to how much insurance cover you need. Don’t forget to include any modifications that might have cost you a bit to add on, and may cost you more to replace.
Contents insurance
This is often overlooked, as people often think they don’t have that much to replace anyway. But if you lost it all, how much would it cost you to replace everything in your house? Even having a minimum level of cover will help you in the event of total loss. If you have recently bought an expensive piece of jewellery or electronic equipment, make sure you advise your insurer, as some items need to be specified on your policy to ensure full cover.
It’s important to get insurance right. Using calculators, and really thinking about what you have, will help you to make sure you have the right levels of cover in place.
Disclaimer: Please note that the content provided in this article is intended as an overview and as general information only. While care is taken to ensure accuracy and reliability, the information provided is subject to continuous change and may not reflect current development or address your situation. Before making any decisions based on the information provided in this article, please use your discretion and seek independent guidance.
