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Cheap contents insurance
How best to compare contents insurance for tenants and renters
Almost half of renters DON'T have contents insurance. Yet if there was a burglary, flood or fire in your home, your landlord's insurance usually only covers damage to the building itself, not to your stuff – meaning you'd have to shell out for replacements. This guide helps you find the right policy to suit you – at the cheapest price.

Do you own your home? See Cheap home insurance for combined building and contents cover.
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What is contents insurance?

Home contents insurance covers your belongings, whether you're renting or whether you own your home. It can be hard to know what's covered, but home contents insurance generally covers the items that would fall down if you turned your home upside down (for example, clothing, furniture, crockery and appliances). It can also cover the items you'd usually take with you when out of the home.
Note that it's different from home buildings insurance which protects the structure of your home and permanent fixtures and fittings, such as doors and other things attached to the home, and sanitary equipment (baths, basins, toilets and showers). It's your landlord's responsibility to buy buildings insurance.
What does contents insurance cover?
The contents part of your insurance protects you if any items in your room or home are damaged or stolen. Most decent contents insurance policies will cover:
- Damage to your contents caused by storms, flooding, earthquakes, fire, lightning, explosions, theft, riots and vandalism
- The cost of spoiled food if your freezer breaks down
- The replacement of cash stolen from your home
- Legal liability protection if a visitor to your home is injured and it's deemed to be your fault
There are limits on how much you can claim for, so if you're concerned about fancy frozen food or you have cash hidden in your mattress, check your policy carefully.
What ISN'T covered by contents insurance?
There are a decent number of things you may expect to be covered by contents insurance, which aren't. The main exclusions are:
- Damage due to wear and tear
- Acts of terrorism
- If your home is unoccupied for more than 30 consecutive days (see unoccupied while away for more)
- Accidental damage (see accidental damage for more)
- Some burglaries, for example, if there's no sign of forced entry, insurers may turn down a claim
- High-value items (for example, cycles, jewellery, gadgets) – you may need to pay extra to insure these separately
- Items you take out of the home – you may need to pay extra to cover these
- Home-based businesses – 'office' work is often covered, but if you have visitors or bring stock home you'll need separate cover
Eight contents insurance need-to-knows
Here are our top tips to help you get a policy that's right for you.
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How to find the cheapest contents insurance
Here, getting the cheapest cover all depends on who you live with – for example, someone living with their family and someone sharing with flatmates or housemates they don't know will need to go down different routes. Select the tab closest to your situation...
Step 1: Use price comparison sites
Simple – as you're sharing the entire home with your spouse, partner or immediate family, a comparison site is the best way to start getting quotes. This is a quick and easy way to search for a policy that'll give you a decent benchmark for prices.
It's best to use all four sites, but if you don't have time, we've ranked them in order of the sites that most often return the cheapest quotes so you've the best chance of bagging the top deal.
Try comparison sites in this order
Site | Official perk info & MSE's analysis |
Try as many as you can, in this order... | |
|
Official perk info: Price match + £20 Amazon, Sainsbury's, Just Eat or Argos gift card. MSE perk analysis: If you buy a policy through MoneySupermarket and that same day you find a like-for-like policy with the same insurer cheaper elsewhere (either from the insurer or on another comparison site), MoneySupermarket will refund you the difference in cost, and will give you a £20 gift card on top. See our full MoneySupermarket perk analysis. |
![]() Compare The Market* |
Official perk info: Meerkat movies and meals. A year's 2for1s on cinema tickets and meals on Tue/Wed nights. MSE perk analysis: For those who'd use it and go to the flicks and restaurants, this perk can be worth £100s. However, you can just use our trick to get Meerkat movies and meals for £1 for a year, meaning you may want to consider other sites' perks instead. See our full Compare The Market perk analysis. |
![]() Confused.com* |
Official perk info: ONE of.... £20 Halfords voucher | Hello Fresh recipe box | £20 Shell Go+ fuel credit | 12 IMO 'triple foam' car washes.
|
Then, to boost chances of finding a cheap quote further, try... | |
Gocompare – a big comparison site which currently gives £250 'free' excess cover with every purchase. | |
Quotezone* – another comparison site, it gives access to Rewards+ within 60 days of you buying a policy, which it says offers savings at up to 1,000 retailers. | |
Direct Line* – you won't find this insurer on any comparison sites, so it's worth a try. |
Insurer | Deal information |
![]() Urban Jungle* |
Get a £15 Amazon voucher when you use the code MSE_OFFER. Urban jungle home insurance newbies and returning customers who buy a contents-only, buildings-only or combined policy via this Urban Jungle link*, and use the code MSE_OFFER, will be emailed the voucher 30 days after the policy has been in place for six months. |
Important: Don't let the vouchers/cashback sway you – always make sure the policy meets your needs, and get alternative quotes to compare.
Step 3: Struggling to get cheap cover? Go to a broker
If you're having trouble getting cover, seeing a broker will be your next port of call. An insurance broker is an expert on insurance, who knows the market and can give you advice on getting the right cover for your needs.
Some people, including those with a chequered financial past – such as bankruptcy or county court judgments – can find it difficult to find cheap insurance cover as they are considered too high a risk.
Those in areas prone to flooding or subsidence, or those whose homes are left unoccupied for long periods, may struggle too.
In these situations, you can search on the British Insurance Brokers' Association website (or phone 0370 950 1790) for help with your individual circumstances. It will list brokers in your area who may be able to help.
It's also worth trying Homeprotect* and Intelligent Insurance*. These specialist providers work with a number of insurance companies that can help to arrange cover for those who have trouble getting it.
Step 4: Check the policy carefully before buying
Always double-check the policy terms. Once you've found the cheapest quote to suit you and your wallet from the comparison sites or by going direct, make two important checks:
- Double-check the quote. Click through to the insurance provider's own website to double-check the policy is suitable. Some comparison sites make a few assumptions (which might not be right for you) to speed up searches.
- Examine the policy's cover to try to shave some off the price. While checking whether it's suitable, it's worth playing with the policy details to see if you can drop the price further. For example, look at the excess, and see if any affordable adjustment here can trim the cost.
Step 5: See if you can get cashback on your cheapest quote
If you're a cashback site user, you'll know that if you get your home insurance via them it gets a 'lead fee' for sending you to the insurer. Once it gets paid the fee by the insurer, it then it shares it with you.
This can beat going to the comparison sites above, but do check your quote isn't more than going to a comparison site, and it's best to think of the cashback as a bonus, rather than 100% guaranteed as sometimes it doesn't track or isn't paid out. These are the two routes to try...
- Route 1: Use cashback site comparisons: There's a version of Confused's comparison on cashback sites Topcashback* and a MoneySupermarket.com's version on Quidco*, where you'll get £33 and £28 respectively if you buy a policy through them (you don't get the standard Confused perks or MoneySupermarket perks, as this is a rebranded version of the comparison) but do keep an eye on the quotes you get as you may not get exactly the same prices as you will from the comparison.
The easiest way to do it is to look at the quotes you get, then take off £33 from Topcashback's cheapest, and £28 from Quidco's, and see which works out cheapest for you.
- Route 2: Find your cheapest insurer then go via cashback site. Once you know your cheapest insurer, try checking what cashback you'll get via going to it direct via Quidco* and Topcashback*.
Yet here be extra careful not to let the cashback tail wag the dog. Choose the right insurer first, then look for cashback. Don't look for the biggest cashback then choose the insurer.
Again, make sure you check the price you're getting through this route is the same as the prices you found from the comparisons you'd already done. If it's more expensive, see if the cashback offsets the rise. If not, go with the quotes you got above.
Our Top Cashback Sites guide has full information on how these sites work.
Step 1: Use price comparison sites
Comparison sites zip your details to insurers' and brokers' websites, finding the cheapest. So be aware that they often feed your personal details to insurers.
We've analysed the comparison sites to find out which is likely to give the cheapest quotes for room-only cover. They don't all compare the same sites, so combine them...
Before you start... All the comparison sites should ask you questions about who you live with, meaning the quotes you get back should be for policies that will cover you. However, before you purchase, check the T&Cs for any specifics, for example, whether you'd only be covered if you've got a lock on the door to your room.
Try comparison sites in this order
Site | Official perk info & MSE's analysis |
Try as many as you can, in this order... | |
![]() MoneySupermarket* |
Official perk info: Price match + £20 Amazon, Sainsbury's, Just Eat or Argos gift card. MSE perk analysis: If you buy a policy through MoneySupermarket and that same day you find a like-for-like policy with the same insurer cheaper elsewhere (either from the insurer or on another comparison site), MoneySupermarket will refund you the difference in cost, and will give you a £20 gift card on top. See our full MoneySupermarket perk analysis. |
|
Official perk info: Meerkat movies and meals. A year's 2for1s on cinema tickets and meals on Tue/Wed nights. MSE perk analysis: For those who'd use it and go to the flicks and restaurants, this perk can be worth £100s. However, you can just use our trick to get Meerkat movies and meals for £1 for a year, meaning you may want to consider other sites' perks instead. See our full Compare The Market perk analysis. |
![]() Confused.com* |
Official perk info: ONE of.... £20 Halfords voucher | Hello Fresh recipe box | £20 Shell Go+ fuel credit | 12 IMO 'triple foam' car washes.
|
Then, to boost chances of finding a cheap quote further, try... | |
Gocompare – a big comparison site which currently gives £250 'free' excess cover with every purchase. | |
Quotezone* – another comparison site, it gives access to Rewards+ within 60 days of you buying a policy, which it says offers savings at up to 1,000 retailers. | |
Direct Line* – you won't find this insurer on any comparison sites, so it's worth a try. |
Insurer | Deal information |
![]() Urban Jungle* |
Get a £15 Amazon voucher when you use the code MSE_OFFER. Urban jungle home insurance newbies and returning customers who buy a contents-only, buildings-only or combined policy via this Urban Jungle link*, and use the code MSE_OFFER, will be emailed the voucher 30 days after the policy has been in place for six months. |
Important: Don't let the vouchers/cashback sway you – always make sure the policy meets your needs, and get alternative quotes to compare.
Step 3: Struggling to get cheap cover? Go to a broker
If you're having trouble getting cover, seeing a broker will be your next port of call. An insurance broker is an expert on insurance, who knows the market and can give you advice on getting the right cover for your needs.
Some people, including those with a chequered financial past – such as bankruptcy or county court judgments – can find it difficult to find cheap insurance cover as they are considered too high a risk.
Those in areas prone to flooding or subsidence, or those whose homes are left unoccupied for long periods, may struggle too.
In these situations, you can search on the British Insurance Brokers' Association website (or phone 0370 950 1790) for help with your individual circumstances. It will list brokers in your area who may be able to help.
It's also worth trying Home Protect* and Intelligent Insurance*. These specialist providers work with a number of insurance companies that can help to arrange cover for those who have trouble getting it.
Step 4: Check the policy carefully before buying
Always double-check the policy terms. Once you've found the cheapest quote to suit you and your wallet from the comparison sites or by going direct, make two important checks:
- Double-check the quote. Click through to the insurance provider's own website to double-check the policy is suitable. Some comparison sites make a few assumptions (which might not be right for you) to speed up searches.
- Examine the policy's cover to try to shave some off the price. While checking whether it's suitable, it's worth playing with the policy details to see if you can drop the price further. For example, look at the excess, and see if any affordable adjustment here can trim the cost.
Step 5: See if you can get cashback on top of the cheapest quote
Once you know which your cheapest provider is, check you're not missing out on any cashback deals.
Note that there is no guarantee the quote will be the same going through a cashback site as it is going through a comparison site, so make sure you check the cost carefully. And it's important to be aware the cashback comes from the cashback site, not the insurer.
Here are three important things you need to know before getting cashback...
- Never count the cash as yours until it's in your bank account. Cashback is never 100% guaranteed. There can be issues with tracking and allocating the payment. Many cashback sites are small firms with limited backing, and you've no protection if anything happens to them.
- Withdraw the cashback as soon as you're allowed. Money held in your cashback site account has no protection at all if that company goes bust. Always withdraw it as soon as you're able to.
- Clear your cookies or the cashback may not track. While it shouldn't be a problem, if you've used comparison sites before, there's a minor risk that the cashback may not track due to cookies on your computer – so it's good practice to clear those first (read about cookies).
If you're new to cashback sites, make sure you read our Top cashback sites guide for pros and cons before using them.
Step 1: Go to a broker
If you want to get a joint policy with a number of names on it, your best option is an insurance broker. These insurance experts know the market and can give you advice on getting the right cover for your needs.
The British Insurance Brokers' Association website (or phone 0370 950 1790) lists brokers in your area who may be able to help.
It's also worth trying Homeprotect* and Intelligent Insurance*. They are specialist providers working with a number of insurance companies that can help to arrange cover for those who have trouble getting it.
Step 2: Check the policy carefully before buying
Always double-check the policy terms. Once you've found the cheapest quote to suit you and your wallet, make two important checks:
- Double-check the quote. Click through to the insurance provider's own website to double-check the policy is suitable. Some comparison sites make a few assumptions (which might not be right for you) to speed up searches.
- Examine the policy's cover to try to shave some off the price. While checking whether it's suitable, it's worth playing with the policy details to see if you can drop the price further. For example, look at the excess, and see if any affordable adjustment here can trim the cost.
The choice in this situation is to get added to your landlord's policy or to have your own policy.
If you choose to go it alone and have your own room-only policy, head to I need room-only cover in a homeshare. Remember, your contents won't be covered in communal areas unless there is forced entry into the home.
IMPORTANT. If it's cheaper (or a lot less hassle) to opt to be added to your landlord's policy, there are a few things to be aware of:
- The landlord would need to make the claim – do you trust them to do so if it's just your stuff stolen/damaged (as it would affect their no-claims bonus)?
- Would they give you the resulting cash from a claim?
- Does the landlord plan to excessively up your rent to cover the insurance?
Even if you have a trusting relationship with your landlord, it's worth knowing not all insurers will put lodgers on an existing policy. It's down to an archaic bit of industry law, but it can mean this won't be an option for you. Ask your landlord to check with their insurer.
How to make a contents insurance claim
Claiming on your insurance should be straightforward, and needn't be daunting. If you've read and understand the terms and excesses on your policy, you shouldn't be in for any nasty shocks. But in the event you need to claim, take the following steps...
- If it's a theft, notify the police. If something's stolen from the property, you'll need to get a crime reference number to make a claim. Report the incident to the police as soon as you can to make sure your claim doesn't hit the skids.
- If you've emergency damage, act quickly to sort it.
1) To report a possible gas leak, contact the National Grid on 0800 111 999.
2) If you've electrical problems, call your local electricity distributor, NOT your energy company (see a list of emergency contact numbers).
3) Report any sewage hazards to your council.
4) When it comes to making repairs, speak to the landlord first, and don't do anything unsafe yourself. The Association of British Insurers says your insurer should have a 24-hour claims line, if you need to contact it. - And then submit your claim – as soon as possible. Contact your insurer as soon as you can to avoid any administrative hold-ups; if it's a complex claim, it may take a while to be processed, so the sooner you start, the better.
When claiming, you'll usually have to pay something towards repairs and replacements, known as an 'excess'. You'll need to provide details of the circumstances surrounding anything that's been lost or damaged, plus any evidence of that. Take photographs of any damage – this may help provide proof.
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For all the latest deals, guides and loopholes simply sign up today – it's spam-free!
How to complain about your insurance provider
The insurance industry doesn't have the best customer-service reputation and while a provider may be good for some, it can be hell for others.
Common problems include claims not being paid out on time or at all, unfair charges, or exclusions being hidden in small print. It's always worth trying to call your provider first, but, if not, then…
You can use free complaints tool Resolver. The tool helps you manage your complaint, and if the company doesn't play ball, it also helps you escalate your complaint to the free Financial Ombudsman Service.
Tenants' contents insurance FAQs
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