How much should I insure the contents of my home for?

Most people say 10.000 and the inventory comes to 30.000. Write down what each room holds.

Contents are insured at the price of new of everything in the home, from an inventory room by room.
In the flat of 95 square metres of the example the inventory comes to €26,500, and the jewellery of €2,800 is declared one by one: €29,300 in all.
If you declare less than the value, outside the tolerance, the average clause cuts each loss in the same proportion.

Calculate

The inventory, at the price of new

Hall and corridor € Living room € Kitchen € Main bedroom € Second bedroom or study € Clothes and shoes € Personal electronics € Bathroom and storeroom €

The valuables

Jewellery, watches and art € The dearest of them €

The declaration and a loss

Floor area of the home m² The sum you will declare € A loss to the contents € Margin of the policy %

The answer

Sum insured: €29,300
Pays for the loss: €2,300

The inventory: €26,500 for the things in the home, and €2,800 for the valuables, declared one by one.
The check: 95 square metres at 350 to 400 € make €33,250 to €38,000. The right sum is the one of the inventory.
The valuables, €2,800, count only if the policy names them one by one with their value. Without that, the terms of most insurers leave them out.
With €25,000 for a value of €26,500, you are inside the tolerance: the loss of €2,300 is paid in full.

A painting, an antique or an appliance over 1,500 € is written down on its own: without that, some policies pay it only up to 1,500 €.
Cash is usually excluded, or covered for a few hundred euros from a locked piece of furniture.
The amounts are before the deductible of the policy.

The inventory in one evening

Start at the door and write down for each room what it holds and what it costs new today. Photograph each room from two angles with the wardrobes open, and each item over 500 € on its own, with its serial number. Put the photos and the receipts in a folder in the cloud, and do it again every year.

How we work it out

The sum is the total of the inventory, at the price of new, and of the valuables declared one by one. The check by floor area is our own assumption, 350 to 400 € a square metre for a main home. The limits for valuables are the usual ones of the policies, and yours states its own.

The average clause is article 17 of Law 2496/1997: if the sum you declared is lower than the value, each loss is paid in the same proportion, unless you are inside the tolerance of the policy. The payout never passes the sum you declared. How much to insure the home for?

Sources

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Frequently asked questions

What people usually ask

01 At the price of new or at the price I paid?

At the price of new: what it costs to buy them today, not what you paid. Packages that pay replacement value as new count the same way.

02 What are the things in an ordinary home worth?

Our check is 350 to 400 € a square metre for a main home, that is 33.250 to 38.000 € for 95 square metres. A home without luxuries often comes to less in the inventory, and the right sum is the one of the inventory.

03 Must I declare my jewellery one by one?

Yes. The terms of most insurers leave jewellery, gold and watches out of the contents, unless the policy names them one by one with their value. A painting, an antique or an appliance over 1,500 € is written down on its own too, with a photo and a valuation.

04 What happens if I declare less than I have?

The average clause applies: the insurer pays the share you are insured for. With 10.000 € for contents worth 30.000 €, a loss of 7.500 € is paid 2.500 €, before the deductible.

05 Is cash covered?

Usually not, or only for a few hundred euros and only from a locked piece of furniture or a safe.