Cheap Contents Insurance for Tenants

Insurance companies will ask you for an estimated value of all your contents but individual pricey items, usually ranging from £1,000 to £2,000, have to be separately listed to be covered on many policies. Expensive purchases such as laptops and jewellery (including engagement rings) may not be covered if they were bought after your policy was taken out so it's always worth letting your insurers know as soon as you have purchased it.

Even for goods valued under £1,000, some of them may not be covered, especially if they are mobile phones, tablets or even bicycles. A number of providers insist these items are specifically named on the policy, regardless of their value. After you buy something expensive, always check your policy carefully to ensure it's covered.

Always keep hold of – and safeguard – receipts for valuable items like jewellery and big-ticket items such as specialist cameras or high-spec televisions. Insurers will usually want to see proof of purchase before paying out; a receipt, photograph, valuation certificate (for jewellery or antiques) or even bank statement will suffice. This is also the case if adding such items to an 'all risks' or 'personal possessions' add-on to your contents policy.

Most policies don't cover contents outside the home as standard, but you can extend them so they do by buying what's called an 'all risks' or 'personal possessions' add-on to your contents policy.

It'll cost a little bit more but you can usually get insurance for items such as your handbag, digital camera, bicycle, smartphone and tablet both outside the home and overseas. As a rule of thumb, if it's designed to be taken out of the home, it'll fall under this extension.

As always, check your policy carefully. There may be limits to the cover and the items might have to be specifically mentioned in your policy documents. In many cases, such as for valuable bicycles worth £1,000 or more, you could be better off taking out a specialist bicycle insurance policy. Equally, if you carry a lot of valuable gadgets e.g. a laptop, tablet and smartwatch, then gadget insurance could be worth considering.

Each policy normally comes with a compulsory and a voluntary excess, if you have selected one. A compulsory excess does what it says on the tin. If you make a claim, it's the amount you pay towards the cost. If your TV was stolen and you made a claim for £500, and had a compulsory excess of £50 – a typical sum – you'd get £450.

If you have a £50 voluntary excess and a £50 compulsory excess, you'd only get £400.

The excess is outlined when you buy the policy. What you pay is entirely up to you. A higher excess will lower the cost of your premium, with the insurer paying less if you have to make a claim. But if you make a claim, you'll get less money back.

When you set your excess, think carefully. If you can't afford to cover a large chunk of the cost if you need to claim, don't set a high voluntary excess, as you'll have to pay that as well as the compulsory excess.