Contents insurance insures the contents of your residence, whether you own the residence or not. It provides protection in the event of theft, fire or similar. Sometimes it can be purchased alongside a home insurance policy. In that case, it’s known as home and contents insurance.
There are policies that provide market value to replace your contents while others provide new-for-old replacement. There are also policies that provide you with accidental damage. In addition, some policies may also provide cover for contents that are lost or stolen when not physically at your home.
Most insurance policies have an excess. The excess is the amount you personally have to pay before the insurance company agrees to pay the balance of the claim. An excess is a form of self-insurance.
For example, if you had a $300 excess and it cost $2,000 to replace your TV, you would pay the first $300 and the insurance company would pay $1,700.