Home insurance

Home Contents Insurance

Now might seem like the worst time to start paying for home insurance, but if you don’t have it, you could find yourself in a financial nightmare

Millions of us are risking financial ruin should the worst happen to our homes, say the Financial Inclusion Commission. The report found that one in three of us (35%) have no cover at all. For people with incomes of less than £16,000 a year, the figure rockets to three in five (60%).

Now might seem like the worst time to start paying for home insurance, but if we don’t have it, we could find ourselves in an impossible financial situation.

Home contents insurance means insurers pay out to replace belongings destroyed by theft, fire, flood or sometimes accidental damage. The chances of this happening seem slim but in reality the rates are going up.

If you rent your home, your landlord has no duty to repair or replace any possessions lost or damaged through theft, fire or flood. Even the fixtures and fittings that come with the property have to be repaired or replaced by us.

Previous Quids in! research found that more than a quarter (28%) of readers would have to go without if something like a washing machine broke down. They have no savings to fall back on. Only slightly fewer (24%) said they would be forced to raid their hard-earned savings.

The report called for more to be done to extend coverage to groups like social tenants and young private renters. It said the cheapest options should be better advertised and that more landlords should include insurance cover in their rent.

The good news is there are loads of deals out there which can help us to find the cheapest price to cover our homes (sometimes for just 33 pence a day or less). We just need to know where to look and what to look for. Read our guide to finding the best insurance deals.