Watch Out for Caveats in Cheap Home Insurance
Cheap home insurance is all very well and useful if the pennies are tight in the household, but selling yourself short can prove very costly indeed if you don't get the right insurance policy. Covering yourself adequately may make your cheap home insurance a little bit more expensive. However, having the right insurance will give you peace of mind and more importantly, the correct payout should the worst happen.
One sound piece of advice when looking through your cheap home insurance policy is to check the small print carefully. It may be a tedious task but there are some important caveats to watch out for in your insurance policy that you need to be aware of if you don't wish to be caught out.
If you have opted for really cheap home insurance then it is unlikely that items of exceptional value will be covered in your policy. Check what the maximum value per item can be in order to be covered in your insurance. Lots of insurance policies cap item values at 500 or 1,000 depending on your policy. Lowering the cap value will undoubtedly give you cheaper insurance but if you own items which are worth more than the cap value then you will have to fund the difference out of your own pocket. A wedding ring, valuable ornament or high-spec television can easily eclipse the value cap for single items, and are probably worth insuring separately if they are of great value.
When buying contents insurance, be fastidious when checking which areas of your house are covered. Not all policies cover "additions" to your home such as conservatories, garages or sheds. Should items go missing from these areas of the house, you don't want to have to foot the bill for their replacement.
No-one intends to be negligent deliberately but a lot of cheap home insurance policies will not pay out if your actions are deemed negligent as part of your claim. Leaving your front door unlocked for example, or failing to install sufficient fire protection with smoke alarms, could be enough reason for a company to be exempt from paying out on your insurance policy.
If your policy concerns a second home that you don't regularly use and is not being rented to tenants, then check with your insurance company how long your cheap home insurance is valid for whilst the property is unoccupied. Policies can be declared void if a home is left unoccupied for more than three months, although this will vary from policy to policy.
The most important message is to be vigilant. If you are unsure or have any doubts about your cheap home insurance, check with your insurer. Being caught out unexpectedly can prove to be devastating financially.
One sound piece of advice when looking through your cheap home insurance policy is to check the small print carefully. It may be a tedious task but there are some important caveats to watch out for in your insurance policy that you need to be aware of if you don't wish to be caught out.
If you have opted for really cheap home insurance then it is unlikely that items of exceptional value will be covered in your policy. Check what the maximum value per item can be in order to be covered in your insurance. Lots of insurance policies cap item values at 500 or 1,000 depending on your policy. Lowering the cap value will undoubtedly give you cheaper insurance but if you own items which are worth more than the cap value then you will have to fund the difference out of your own pocket. A wedding ring, valuable ornament or high-spec television can easily eclipse the value cap for single items, and are probably worth insuring separately if they are of great value.
When buying contents insurance, be fastidious when checking which areas of your house are covered. Not all policies cover "additions" to your home such as conservatories, garages or sheds. Should items go missing from these areas of the house, you don't want to have to foot the bill for their replacement.
No-one intends to be negligent deliberately but a lot of cheap home insurance policies will not pay out if your actions are deemed negligent as part of your claim. Leaving your front door unlocked for example, or failing to install sufficient fire protection with smoke alarms, could be enough reason for a company to be exempt from paying out on your insurance policy.
If your policy concerns a second home that you don't regularly use and is not being rented to tenants, then check with your insurance company how long your cheap home insurance is valid for whilst the property is unoccupied. Policies can be declared void if a home is left unoccupied for more than three months, although this will vary from policy to policy.
The most important message is to be vigilant. If you are unsure or have any doubts about your cheap home insurance, check with your insurer. Being caught out unexpectedly can prove to be devastating financially.
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