What Is The Best Personal Possessions Insurance?

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Alexandre Desoutter updated on July 24, 2020

Having a personal possession stolen is a form of violation on its own but having insurance against that theft, although it would not restore the stolen item, is a good place to start.

In this guide, we will explain all you have to know about personal possessions insurance, what it includes and excludes, and how much you might need to pay.

Let's dive in!

What is personal possessions cover?

As a policyholder with personal possessions insurance, your personal possessions are covered against loss, damage or theft when they are taken outside your home. Examples of personal possessions are laptops, wallets, bags, keys. Over £1,000 items should be listed, and you must indicate the items value.

What does personal possessions cover can help you with?

Personal Possessions covers your beloved items away from home, and it's really convenient.
For example, you usually keep your mobile phone with you, and not necessarily at home. Phew, if it's stolen outside your home, you'll be covered with personal possessions insurance, and if you don't have this cover, you won't be covered.

Does home insurance cover personal possessions?

Personal Possessions insurance can be covered by Home insurance. Importance should be placed on the Single Article Limit as this would determine how much the insurer will pay out for one item that is not listed separately on the policy.
The valuables that can be listed under the personal possessions cover include jewellery, gadgets, designer goods, musical instruments, collectibles, works of art, and similar items.

How does personal possessions insurance work?

When you make a claim on your personal possessions insurance policy, you'll normally have to pay an excess. These excess payments are the portion of the total claim cost you cover yourself, while the rest is paid by the insurance company.

Do I need personal possessions cover?

Personal possessions can be easily misplaced especially when one is outdoor. Having this cover will reduce worry for the policyholder.

What are the best insurers to cover personal possessions?

You will find in this table the best personal possessions cover, we also indicated cover limits.

Available as extra

Claim limit (at home)

Claim limit (Out of home)

SagaIncluded as standard£10,000Varies
HalifaxYes£15,000£20,000
LVYes£15,000£20,000
BudgetYes£20,000£20,000
AvivaYes£15,000£50,000
AvivaYes£50,000£50,000
Post OfficeYes£20,000£20,000
NFUYesNo limitNo limit
Best personal possessions cover providers

Available as extra

Claim limit (at home)

Claim limit (Out of home)

SagaIncluded as standard£10,000Varies
HalifaxYes£15,000£20,000
LVYes£15,000£20,000
BudgetYes£20,000£20,000
AvivaYes£15,000£50,000
AvivaYes£50,000£50,000
Post OfficeYes£20,000£20,000
NFUYesNo limitNo limit
Best personal possessions cover providers

Available as extra

Claim limit (at home)

SagaIncluded as standard£10,000
HalifaxYes£15,000
LVYes£15,000
BudgetYes£20,000
AvivaYes£15,000
AvivaYes£50,000
Post OfficeYes£20,000
NFUYesNo limit
Best personal possessions cover providers

What are the worst insurers to cover personal possessions?

You will find in this table the worst personal possessions cover, we also indicated cover limits.

Available as extra

Claim limit (at home)

Claim limit (Out of home)

RiasYes£5,000 £1,500
ChurchillYes£10,000£7,500
BradfordYes£20,000 £1,500
SunLifeYesNot stated£2,000
Direct Line Yes£10,000£7,499
SwiftcoverYes£15,000£5,000
SwintonYesVaries Varies
Age CoYesVaries Varies Personal Possession
Worst personal possessions cover provider

Available as extra

Claim limit (at home)

Claim limit (Out of home)

RiasYes£5,000 £1,500
ChurchillYes£10,000£7,500
BradfordYes£20,000 £1,500
SunLifeYesNot stated£2,000
Direct Line Yes£10,000£7,499
SwiftcoverYes£15,000£5,000
SwintonYesVaries Varies
Age CoYesVaries Varies
Worst personal possessions cover providers

Available as extra

Claim limit (at home)

RiasYes£5,000
ChurchillYes£10,000
BradfordYes£20,000
SunLifeYesNot stated
Direct Line Yes£10,000
SwiftcoverYes£15,000
SwintonYesVaries
Age CoYesVaries
Worst personal possessions cover providers

What should I pay attention to while purchasing personal possessions cover?

When taking out a personal possessions cover, attention should be paid to the following:

  • The many exclusions that can apply, listed in this article.
  • The single item limit: you won't be able to claim more than the single item limit, except for the listed items.
  • The valuable items must be specified
  • Remeber that claiming will affect your NCD
  • The excess for your home insurance content can be different than the excess you pay for claiming for personal possessions

How much does personal possessions cover usually cost?

Contents home insurance usually cover personal possessions. The average cost of combined buildings and contents insurance in 2018 was £163, with contents insurance usually counting for a third of the premium (around £60) and building insurance for the rest (around £110).

Adding "personal possessions cover" to your insurance policy will cost you around £50 per year and will allow you to be covered if your personal possessions have been stolen, damaged or misplaced, outside your home. Many home insurance companies include personal possession in their content policies.

What are the personal possessions policy exclusions?

For personal possessions, cover will not be provided in the case of the following:

  • Unattended possessions: i.e in the case that an item is not properly monitored by the policyholder and it gets lost or damaged.
  • Items on public display
  • Business equipment
  • Electrical or mechanical breakdown in the case that the gadgets insured are damaged by an electrical or mechanical issue.
  • Wear and tear

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Alexandre Desoutter
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Alexandre Desoutter has been working as editor-in-chief and head of press relations at HelloSafe since June 2020. A graduate of Sciences Po Grenoble, he worked as a journalist for several years in French media, and continues to collaborate as a as a contributor to several publications.

In this sense, his role leads him to carry out steering and support work with all HelloSafe editors and contributors so that the editorial line defined by the company is fully respected. and declined through the texts published daily on our platforms.

As such, Alexandre is responsible for implementing and maintaining the strictest journalistic standards within the HelloSafe editorial staff, in order to guarantee the most accurate, up-to-date information on our platforms. and expert as possible. Alexandre has in particular undertaken for two years now the implementation of a system of systematic double-checking of all the articles published within the HelloSafe ecosystem, able to guarantee the highest quality of information.