Personal possessions insurance

What is personal possessions insurance?

Personal possessions insurance protects valuables that you take with you, such as your phone, jewellery and bike, against damage and theft while you are out of your house.

Some home insurance policies include this as standard, but more often this is an optional extra that can be added to your policy for an additional premium.

What does personal possessions insurance cover?

The exact specifications will vary between providers and policy types, but personal possessions insurance usually protects your possessions against accidental damage, theft and loss.

What possessions can be covered?

This will also vary from policy to policy, but generally the kind of property that can be covered by personal possessions insurance includes:

• Bikes
• Laptops
• Phones
• Keys
• Cash
• Jewellery
• Cameras and other gadgets

Some policies include all of the above as standard, or just set a certain amount for the cover, but in some cases you will need to declare specific items you wish to include. This is often true when covering bikes.

What isn’t covered?

Most insurers set a “single item limit” on the value of property you wish to insure with them. Any items worth more than this limit (usually between £1,000 and £2,000), will need to be listed separately. There might also be a cap on how much cash you can include in your cover.

Bicycles and other sports equipment can sometimes be included in personal possessions insurance, but more expensive models will likely need to be listed separately. Some providers exclude bikes from their cover altogether, so if bike cover is something you require, make sure you check the small print.

Other exclusions to the policy might include:

• Unattended possessions. You must not put your items in danger of theft by leaving them unattended.
• Items on public display. Even if your car is locked, you must store all valuables out of sight (for example, in your glove compartment).
• Business equipment. Insurance companies usually exclude items used for business from cover, unless you take out specific business insurance.
• Wear and tear. Items will naturally deteriorate in condition over time. This is unlikely to be covered by insurance.

Is it covered under my standard home and contents policy?

In some cases personal possessions insurance is included in the more comprehensive types of home insurance policies. These include Urban Jungle’s contents insurance, Admiral’s Gold and Platinum policies and Tesco’s contents insurance.

However, more often than not, it’s an optional extra you can add to your policy for an additional premium (this is usually a few extra pounds per month).

You can compare home insurance policies to see which providers offer personal possessions cover.

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Frequently asked questions

• Do I need personal possessions insurance?

  Whether to get this type of insurance is a personal decision, but if you have expensive items (like gadgets or jewellery) that you usually carry with you out of the house, you might want to consider making sure they are protected against damage, loss and theft.

  Your home insurance policy covers your items while they are in the home, but most will not include cover outside of your house or flat. By adding personal possessions insurance to your policy, you can make getting a new phone, tablet, laptop or any other valuable item included in your cover much less stressful.

  Unfortunately, there has been a rise in the theft of bikes, and so, if you own an expensive model, you might want to take out a policy that includes cover for it.

  If you travel abroad often, a personal possessions insurance policy that includes cover abroad might be worth looking at (if your travel insurance doesn’t already include this type of cover).

• Do I need personal possessions insurance if I'm at university?

  This type of policy usually applies to items outside of the home, regardless of whether the person insured is a student or not.

  If you are living in student accommodation, it’s worth looking at personal possessions insurance policies that cover students. Some student contents insurance policies include personal possessions cover, but you should be able to add this as an extra benefit for policies that don’t.

• What limit am I covered up to?

  This varies by provider. Usually, the limit per item is between £1,000-£2,000 – your policy documents will tell you what the exact figure is for you.

  Some insurers also set a general limit on all items covered. Again, your policy documents will have the details of this.

• Is personal possessions insurance different to gadget insurance?

  Personal possessions insurance and gadget insurance are similar in that they both cover your property outside the home. However, as the name suggests, gadget insurance only applies to tech items, like your phone, tablet and laptop, whereas personal possessions insurance can also include other items, such as jewellery, clothes, handbags and bikes.