Home Insurance & High-value Items

Do you know which high value items are covered by your home insurance policy? The answer could be none! In many standard homeowner policies, particularly valuable items are not covered unless they are specifically mentioned.

Are Your Most Expensive Possessions Properly Insured?

Over the years, you may have acquired more valuable belongings and never thought about insurance for them. Do any of these scenarios sound familiar?

• You’ve taken up a new sport and now own an expensive bike or scuba equipment
• One of your kids is passionate about music and has a drum set, guitar(s) or a violin
• You have purchased or inherited some jewelry
• You have upgraded your home computer(s)

Some people think or may assume home insurance covers everything in their house but you need to be aware that this is not the case. While home insurance does cover your personal property and average belongings, like furniture, clothing, housewares, etc., it does not cover or completely cover unusual or expensive items.

Policy Limits on Coverage Provided

Most policies have limits on the amount of coverage that will be provided for certain items or specific categories of personal property, such as jewelry or musical instruments for example. The reason for this is to be fair to all policyholders and provide coverage for standard, everyday belongings at reasonable rates. If you happen to have items of significant value, then you can choose to place special coverage on them either for replacement value or market value. Some examples are:

• Coin or stamp collections
• Silverware
• Gold bullion
• Watches, gems and furs
• Jewelry
• Musical instruments
• Computer equipment
• Sporting equipment

If you’re not sure if you need or want to have extra coverage for any of your valuables, there’s no harm in getting a quote to see what it would cost and asking your insurance expert about your options.

Make a Home Inventory List

To really know what you have in your home now, make a home inventory list, which you can use for discussions with your insurance professional. This list will be extremely helpful if you ever need to make a claim, and it can also help you determine if your current policy limits provide sufficient coverage. Your inventory list should include a brief description of items as well as their estimated replacement cost. A quick way to take inventory is to make a video of each room and closets describing items as you go through your home.

Protect Your High Value Items

To find out what high value items you have that may need extra protection, feel free to talk with the home insurance experts at Mitchell & Whale Insurance Brokers. Contact us at 1-800-731-2228 or email us at info@mitchellwhale.com. We’d be happy to help.

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments below! Mitchell & Whale is a fast-growing insurance brokerage in Ontario, striving to make insurance _not suck_ one customer at a time. Give us a call today to discuss any of your insurance needs at 1.800.731.2228.

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