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What does contents insurance cover?

Contents insurance policies can vary considerably between providers and may leave you feeling frustrated if they don’t meet your expectations. To help you get the policy that’s right for you, we look at what you can expect from your contents cover, how it works, and how it differs from building insurance. 

22.10.25

By Heath Alexander-Bew

What is contents insurance?

What is contents insurance, and what does it cover? 

Contents insurance is a type of policy often included within home insurance or landlord insurance that specifically covers your possessions. Policies will compensate you with an agreed upon amount of money if your belongings are damaged or destroyed due to certain events – usually these will include but are not limited to fire, flood, theft, and vandalism. 

Contents insurance policies typically cover all the items you would normally take with you when you move home, for example: 

  • soft furnishings (carpets, curtains, rugs, cushions); 

  • electrical goods (TV, washing machine, dishwasher, other electricals you can unplug); 

  • furniture (beds, sofas, dining table, chairs, lamps, lamp shades); 

  • your belongings (jewellery, books, ornaments, pictures, paintings). 

What isn’t covered by contents insurance? 

All contents policies come with terms, conditions, and exclusions. These can vary by insurer, but policies typically won’t cover: 

  • damage caused by pets; 

  • wear and tear or breakdown of electricals because of age; 

What’s the difference between contents insurance and building insurance? 

Building insurance is another type of home or landlord insurance, but instead of covering your belongings, it covers the structure of your property. This includes: 

  • external and internal walls and ceilings; 

  • permanent fixtures and fittings (kitchen worktops, bathroom suite, central heating system, pipes, fitted wardrobes); 

  • fittings that cannot be removed without causing damage (laminate flooring, wallpaper, light fittings). 

Most building insurance policies will also cover outbuildings and other permanent outdoor fixtures (such as sheds, garages, tennis courts, and swimming pools). However, cover may be limited or there may be certain conditions you need to meet, for example, sheds must be lockable.  

Here’s a quick summary of the main differences between contents and buildings insurance: 

Insured item

Contents insurance

Building insurance

Structure of your property

No

Yes

Permanent fixtures (kitchen worktops, bathroom suites, fitted wardrobes)

No

Yes

Flooring

Removable flooring only (carpets, rugs).

Flooring that cannot be removed without damaging the surface (floorboards, vinyl, lino).

Freestanding furniture that can be moved (wardrobes, bookcases, sofas, beds)

Yes

No

Décor

Removable décor only (curtains, cushions, pictures).

Fixed décor only (wallpaper).

Personal belongings

Yes

No

Electrical white goods

Yes

No

Can I get add-on cover to insure other items? 

Yes. Most insurers offer a range of home insurance extras that provide additional cover for other events. The more features you choose, the more you can expect to pay overall. Additional features to choose from often include:  

  • Legal expenses – provides access to professional legal advice, covering a range of issues, for example, employment disputes, personal injury claims, or claims against contractors. 

  • Accidental damage – covers the cost of items that have been unintentionally damaged, for example, if you dropped and broke your laptop. 

  • Home emergency – provides a quick response in case of a household emergency, such as a boiler breakdown or major water leak. Insurers typically maintain their own lists of emergency contractors, which they assign. If you need to make a claim, contact your insurer. 

  • Personal possessions – covers belongings that you carry with you outside your home, such as an engagement or wedding ring, mobile phone, or glasses.  

  • Bicycle insurance – this specifically insures your bicycle. However, if you have a high-spec model, double-check that the sum insured is enough to cover the cost of a replacement. 

Do I need both building and contents insurance? 

If you have a mortgage, your lender will usually expect you to take out building insurance and it’s often a condition of the loan. If you’re mortgage-free, there’s no obligation to have building cover, but it means you’d be responsible for covering the cost of any repairs (or a total rebuild).  

When it comes to contents cover, you don’t need a policy by law, but again, it means it’s up to you to pay for repairs or replacements if your belongings are damaged or stolen. 

Do I need contents cover if I rent my home? 

If you rent, it’s entirely up to you whether or not you buy tenant’s contents insurance. There’s no legal obligation to have a policy in place, but it means it’s up to you to pay for replacements if your belongings are damaged.  

As a tenant, you won’t need to worry about building insurance as this will be covered by your landlord (if they have provided furniture in the property, then these are also your landlord’s responsibility).  

If you’re a landlord, you can cover your rental with landlord building insurance. You can also cover any contents you supply with landlord’s contents insurance.   

How does contents insurance work? 

If your contents are damaged, destroyed, or stolen due to an event covered by your policy, you can make a claim for repair or replacement. When taking out a policy, ensure it has a level of cover that provides you with sufficient funds to meet your needs. 

There are three main ways to work out how much cover you need: 

Bedroom-rated / blanket sum insured contents insurance 

Your cover is based on the number of bedrooms in your home. This is usually more than enough for the average home and will often provide a blanket sum insured for both your building and contents cover. The downside is that, depending on the value of your belongings, you may end up over- or underinsured, which means paying a higher premium or receiving less than you need if you make a claim. 

 

Sum-insured 

The sum insured is a specific amount agreed upon with your insurer, which you’ll need to determine yourself. The simplest way to do this is to go through your home room by room, noting down everything you own and noting the replacement cost (from new) for each item. Alternatively, you can use a contents insurance calculator.  

Working out your sum-insured can be overwhelming the first time you do it, but it should be easier at renewal when you already know the value of what you own. Just remember to update the figure if you purchase any new items that you want to insure. 

Unlimited sum-insured 

Instead of working to a fixed sum-insured, the amount is unlimited. The benefit is that you won’t have to worry about being underinsured, but it can lead to more expensive premiums, depending on the value of your contents.  

How much contents insurance do I need? 

This really depends on what you own and the value of those items. The key is not to underestimate what you own, which is why going through your house room by room is usually the best way to work out what you need. This will also provide you with the most accurate figure, helping to ensure you don’t pay for more cover than you need. 

Why is it risky to underinsure my home? 

Be careful not to underinsure your contents, as it doesn’t just mean you receive a slightly lower payout compared to what you need; it can lead to a far greater discrepancy. 

Most policies apply a calculation known as the average clause. This allows your insurer to reduce your payout by the percentage by which you’re underinsured. For example, if you’re 50% underinsured, they can reduce any payout by a further 50% (depending on the type of claim you’re making). 

 

Insuring high value items 

Contents cover usually has a single item limit (also called a single article limit). This is the maximum amount of money you’ll receive for any one item if you make a claim. Policies will also have a total item limit, which is the total amount you can receive for all items on a claim. 

Single item limits can be relatively low (between £1,500 and £2,500), so if you have any particularly expensive items (such as jewellery, artwork, musical instruments or antiques), check that it’s enough to cover them. If you have a number of valuable items, consider specialist high value insurance. 

What is new for old contents cover? 

If an item cannot be repaired, new for old cover means your insurer will pay for a brand-new replacement, regardless of how old the original item was. Most policies offer new for old cover, but it’s always worth checking just in case. 

The alternative is an indemnity policy, which takes into account the wear and tear of an item. For example, if you bought a £3,000 sofa three years ago and it was damaged after a flood, your insurer would only give you the value of it now, which would be significantly less than what you paid for it (and less than replacing it with a similar one).   

As you’d expect, policies offering new for old cover are generally more expensive than indemnity plans, but they can offer better value if you need to make a claim.  

How much does contents insurance cost? 

Your insurer will consider a number of points to work out a fair premium, including: 

  • the value of your belongings and any items listed separately; 

  • the type of policy you choose (sum insured, bedroom rated, or unlimited); 

  • whether you’ve made any recent claims; 

  • your postcode; 

  • whether or not you decide to add on additional features. 

 

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