All-Risks House Insurance Cover & Liability Home Insurance

As well as insuring the structure of your home, and the contents of it, you can also opt for what's knows as "all-risks cover" to be added to your house insurance policy. Unlike normal contents insurance, which only protects items in your home, all-risks cover will cover you against damage or theft of valuable personal items (like expensive jewellery) OUTSIDE your home as well. However, as you might expect, this can be significantly more expensive but, if the items in question are especially valuable, it may be worth considering.

When you opt for all-risks cover, you either specifically list the items and their value, or choose an overall value for unspecified items instead (which is an option usually used to cover a range of valuable items like clothing, jewellery, clothing, electronic equipment, etc.). When you specify items, most policies have a maximum limit on the amount you can insure them for and, if you declare them to be above a certain value, they may also require an independent appraisal first.

It's possible that you may be insured for the same items under a different insurance policy too. For example, if they are stolen while you are on holiday abroad, your travel insurance policy may cover them anyway. However, you can't make a claim for the same items on more than one policy, even if the different policies are provided by different insurance companies so, make sure you consider the consequences of claiming from any particular policy (such as a likely future increase in your premium); or even if you really need this type of additional cover at all. You should also be aware that all-risks cover often has restrictions on the kind of circumstances in which a loss occurred that can be claimed for too.

You can also opt for additional liability insurance too. Most home insurance policies already have liability insurance up to a certain amount, which covers potential legal costs if you are found to be a fault for an injury, illness, or death that happens on your property (although members of your own family are usually not covered), as well as for accidental damage to someone else's personal property in your home because of something you did, or didn't do.

If someone working in your home (such as a plumber, for example) is injured while on your property, and it's proven to be your fault, your liability insurance will cover the costs involved. However, you should also make sure they have public liability insurance themselves, in case they cause damage to your home while there, and you need to claim against them. Otherwise, if you claim under your own policy, it is almost certain that you will face an increased premium cost the next time your policy is due for renewal.