Insured items coverage

[sleeping giant]

Hi ,

I have just renewed my home insurance and have included an item of value that I covered in and out of the house.

The trouble is , we have no real idea of the actual worth apart from what we have been told.

On our insurance , we can specify the amount for this item to be insured for but what would happen in the event of loss or theft ?
Surely they just wouldn't take our word for it ?

Anyone in the insurance industry be able to help ?

[ColinNish]

Can't you get it valued?

[sleeping giant]

Can't you get it valued?

Aye probably but not sure about that either :-)

Just wondering how they let me declare a value and insure it at that without any evidence .

[Future17]

Hi ,

I have just renewed my home insurance and have included an item of value that I covered in and out of the house.

The trouble is , we have no real idea of the actual worth apart from what we have been told.

On our insurance , we can specify the amount for this item to be insured for but what would happen in the event of loss or theft ?
Surely they just wouldn't take our word for it ?

Anyone in the insurance industry be able to help ?

The starting point for the industry is that the item is covered for what you've estimated it to be worth. This makes sense as your premium will increase proportionally with the estimated value you have stated.

However, in practice, it tends to depend on the value of the item(s) in question. If you're attributing a large value to something which cannot be readily proven (e.g. most commonly antiques, jewellery etc. rather than replaceable technology/furniture etc.) you're likely to be required to prove it. Paid for expert valuations (which obviously must have been obtained in advance of loss/damage/theft) are the best way to do this and avoid a fight.

Most policies that I'm aware of will require you to specifically declare any particular high-value items and a failure to do so in advance may invalidate your cover.

There are other various quirks to how the "system" works. For example, regardless of your level of cover, some companies will dispute your claim if it is above a certain percentage of the value of your property. Of course, they would deny this happens.

It's also worth bearing in mind that more common items should be valued at the level it would cost to replace them as new.