A guide to valuing
items in your home

In situations like this, the only thing that you can do to prepare is to make sure that you have appropriate home insurance to compensate you for the loss of your household goods and allow you to replace them. You can have a House Insurance Estimate from Castle Cover, which allows you to see the price before purchasing the insurance.  After all, when you have been traumatised by criminal activity or other kinds of damage to your home, the last thing you want is more worries about how you will afford to replace everything that you have lost.

You may believe that you have home insurance already, but bear in mind that building insurance is not the same as contents insurance. Building insurance covers the physical structure of your home, while contents insurance covers your possessions - everything from curtains to game systems to furnishings. Of course, in order for your household goods to be insured, you have to know how much they are worth so that you can get the appropriate level of cover.

So, how do you value your possessions? While it may be tempting to go with a lower estimate so as to have smaller premiums, remember that this will affect how much you can claim.

Start by going through your home, room by room, listing the contents. Mark down any model numbers you can find and attach any receipts that you can find. Take pictures of the room and contents as you go. Don't forget to look inside storage containers and wardrobes - replacing all of your clothes could add up to more than the value of a new wardrobe! Use price comparison websites to find out how much it would cost you to replace all of your possessions and use this figure to seek out the best insurance deal for you.

Take your list of items and photographs and keep it in a safe place outside your home so that you can access it if you need to make a claim. Make sure that you keep your policy up to date by adding new purchases or reducing your cover if you get rid of some items.

Remember, while claims are most frequently made for theft, vandalism, fire and flooding damage, you can also tailor your insurance to meet your needs such as by including cover should your pet cause damage.