Tips for calculating the worth of your possessions

When taking out contents insurance, you’ll be asked to provide an estimate of the total value of your possessions. Should you ever need to make a claim, this will help ensure you have enough cover in place and receive the correct pay-out for any damaged or stolen items.

Overestimating the value of your possessions means you could end up paying a higher insurance premium, while underestimating how much your belongings are worth could mean you are left out of pocket if you need to make a claim, so it’s important to be as accurate as possible when it comes to calculating the value of your home contents. To help get you started, here are a few tips:

• Make a list of all the items in each room of your home, including belongings stored in the attic, shed and any outbuildings, plus personal items such as mobile phones, watches and even clothing. This does not include fixtures and fittings like kitchen cupboards or fitted wardrobes. Essentially, if you’d take the item with you if you were to move house, include it in your estimate.

• Once you’ve made your list, work out the total value of all the items. You can use an online contents insurance calculator if you need help doing this.

• Most claims are settled on a ‘new for old’ basis, so any stolen or damaged items will be replaced as new. This means you’ll need to calculate the cost of each item based on how much it would be to replace today, rather than the price you originally paid for it.