Is it worth insuring your house if there are no valuable contents within it?

Question

UK question

Answer 1

And you need to insure the outside of the house too.  Not just the contents.

Answer 2

As has already been pointed out, buildings insurance should be in place if you own/mortgage the property.

If you genuinely don't believe that you have content of any value that you couldn't easily afford to replace should they be lost, damaged or stolen then you do have the option not to take out contents insurance. That said, I should suggest doing a quick inventory of what you have inside the house - it may add up to more than that you first think. Consider your carpets, electrical goods, clothing, CD's, DVD's, PC, games consoles, DVD player, furniture... they're all classed as contents.

Answer 3

Yes because your house is valuable. What are you going to do if your house burns down? [laughs]

Answer 4

Thats the bother of contents insurance, it isnt worth claiming unless you have total loss. Pretty much the only time you would be able to claim is if you had a fire or extensive water damage from a flood or a leak.  The contents insurance isnt much per month, another necessary cost of home owning Im afraid!

Answer 5

Most hopusehold policies also provide public liability cover, if someone trips over a loose paving slab on your driveway these days they may well try and sue you - most household policies have oublic liability cover to pay any damages, worse still if a roof tile comes off and hits the postmen - there are all sorts of individually rare events that make public/property owners liability insurance essential for most people and so unless you are very rich I suggest you have this covered.

Answer 6

Imagine if you had to replace everything all at once - including all your clothes and shoes.

Answer 7

you should always have buildings insurance... and contents insurance, however little possessions you have , they still cost money to replace..

Answer 8

The building itself almost certainly needs to be insured.

If you own the property outright you'll probably need to rely on insurance to repair it, buy another house and/or repay any consequential damages if anything were to happen to it.  If it is mortgaged you'll need to repay the outstanding borrowing and will almost certainly have a contractual obligation to the lender to keep the house insured.

Contents Insurance is entirely optional and only you can decide if it's worthwhile.  If you have the means to replace all the things in the house you consider important then it's down to how comfortable you are with the risk.

Answer 9

not valuable?? what would be the cost to replace?

Answer 10

Of course. You must be joking! Can you afford to lose your house in a fire or are you on a different planet?

Answer 11

You would be surprised how much your worthless possessions are worth so yes insure

Answer 12

Buildings - yes! it could be hit by lightning, set on fire, crashed into etc.

Contents - no point if there aren't any!

Answer 13

Yes, because no matter how little your item cost, it is still going to work out quite a bit to replace it all.  Imagine you lost everything, and i mean, everything in a fire, you will need to buy it all again, right down to the teaspoons so you may as well pay out a little bit each month to give you peace of mind.  You get get cover for low amounts, shop around.

Answer 14

No, if you're just talking contents and you don't have any worth replacing I wouldn't. Some renters buy contents coverage because even though they don't own the house they want their expensive furniture and stuff to be replaced in case of a fire or water damage, the landlord is not responsible for your belongings, just the building.

Answer 15

Impossible to have no valuable contents within your home. Most policy now replace new for old.  The very clothes you wear would cost money to replace.  I presume your home is also furnished and even if buying second hand replacing this can cost a lot. Imagine if you were left without no bed, bedding etc? Unless of course you consider yourself to have adequate savings? If you have I imagine you would be sensible enough to realise it is better paying out a small amount monthly for contents insurance rather than one day have to spend all your savings it is even more sensible to add accidental damage to your cover as this can be the cause of many claims on your policy. It is so easy to spill paint, cause a burn etc somewhere in the home..  If you are not in a council house then it is also essential you insure your buildings.  You don't require to go OTT with insurance just sit down and go through what is in your house and what the cost would be of replacing the items and insure for that amount.  Some insurance companies actually set a minimum amount they will insure for which you may consider beyond what you require but usually the cost is no greater than going with companies who request the amount of cover you ask. Better be safe than sorry and covering all in event of a loss.