Are Your Valuable Collections Underinsured?

Many Brits are hoarding valuable items and are currently buying gold and such as antiques instead of saving money in conventional savings accounts. Whilst many though specify these items on their home insurance policy are they underinsured?

As the recession continues to hit, many Brits are adding to their collections of valuable old, rare and unusual items according to the Moneysupermarket.com Monitor.

Whilst a home insurance policy provides a level of cover for your content, generally any items over a specified limit have to be individually listed.

According to the analysis Brits are insuring a range of high value items, including gold items, coin and medal collections, stamp collections, painting and works of art, furs and antiques.

Gold is of particular interest, perhaps not surprisingly so as the price of gold is heading towards $2,000 an ounce.

Julie Fisher head of home insurance at MoneySupermarket, said: “The era of ‘Rule Britannia’ is alive and well but whether people have inherited valuable heirlooms, or have scoured shops and markets to unearth valuable retro treasures, it’s crucial to understand how underestimating the overall value of home contents could leave you underinsured and severely out of pocket.”

MoneyHighStreet comments: “In many ways it’s fantastic that people are keeping their valuable items rather then selling them for cash. It is vital though to buy insurance cover to fully protect these items, particularly so as for example the number of jewellery home insurance claims is on the rise.

Don’t forget too to get items that you inherit professionally valued and insured accordingly.