What is personal property insurance?

Personal property insurance - often known as home content insurance - is a protection against damages and theft for your personal items. This section of your homeowners policy usually covers your personal belts up to your coverage limits for damage or destruction caused by covered loss although the details differ on your unique policy.

Explore the ins and outs of personal property insurance to ensure that your home material is secured.

What is covered by personal property insurance?

The insurance for your home content applies to all you possess in your own walls — clothes, TV and other electronic equipment, furnishings, appliances, and so on. The specifics of your policy rely upon which situations they are covered.

Most property policies do not apply separately to personal property. It is doubtful that your personal goods will only be covered by an insurance policy. Your renters, homeowners or condo insurance policy may cover your personal property and liability insurance (contents). Invest in a renters' policy if you want insurance cover for your personal property alone (or home or condo).

Does personal property insurance cover appliances?

The designation of home appliances is considered a personal property. Until your equipment gets damaged or destroyed because of a covered risk identified in your insurance, the insurance company is responsible, if it is so requested by your insurer, for its repairs or replacements – the circumstances surrounding the damage caused by your equipment are important to your firm.

What devices are covered can vary from one insurer to the next and confirm whether devices are eligible for protection by the business providing your personal property insurance. Examples of appliances which should be covered are things like a refrigerator or a washing machine. However, devices installed into your home, such as a hot water heater, may instead be covered by your homeowner insurance.

The insurance will never cover wear and tear as well as maintenance and operational difficulties linked to the age of an item.

Does personal property insurance cover other home systems? 

Many other equipment — including HVAC systems and pumps — in your house are not considered personal property nor covered by your homeowners' housing. Therefore, you may need to see the equipment breakdown coverage for these often high-ticket goods. Most insurers had this additional coverage and usually offered a good additional rate.

How personal property insurance handles items outside the home

You will be pleased to know you are outside your home for your personal property coverage. Be careful, however, that objects kept away from your home frequently have lesser covers than those stored at home. This means that such objects — like those maintained in a storage container — may be insured, however their maximum value may be 10%. See how your insurance provider handles goods away from home or call an agent.

Plants and personal property coverage: what to keep in mind

The home contents section of your homeowners policies covers plants, trees and shrubs. Typically, the coverage of these products is limited to approximately $500 per item without natural deterioration or disease.

Personal property insurance for jewelry and high-value items

Most firms will limit the overall amount of remuneration permitted for more valuable things such as jewellery and fine art. This is often called a sub-limit, which depends on the type of property you have. Below are the common sub-limits you can expect for a variety of valuables.

If you have an item that exceeds the above limits, take your personal property insurance policy into consideration. Approval exceeds the limit for coverage to protect a certain type of property. For instance, an endorsement of jewellery would increase the coverage of your item. You might wish to consider a scheduled backing if you have a precious piece of jewellery, for example an engagement ring. This additional coverage requires an individual assessment, but it is the greatest approach to preserve a precious object.

Electronic device insurance

In most homeowner and rental insurance policies, electronic gadget protection is included. The amount of coverage available for gadgets by insurance providers usually limits to approximately $ 1,500, but may vary by firm. Some insurers can add a backing for these products to boost their coverage, but you will want to verify with your company.

Usually, most plans cover the following electronic devices:

• Tablets
• Cell phones
• Digital cameras
• E-readers
• Systems for gaming (including hand-held gaming devices)
• Chromebooks or laptops
• Monitoring devices for electronic fitness (Apple Watch, Fitbit, etc...)
• Personal or GPS devices navigation

These goods are covered under most plans against hazards including power, fire, robbery and all other hazards mentioned in your policy documentation. Sometimes accidental damage is covered, depending on the covering, but normal wear and tear is hardly covered.

The only protection these objects have cannot be your renters or homeowners insurance policy. Many new items still fall within the scope of the manufacturer guarantee or of an extended protection plan that many shops offer. Mechanical faults and in certain cases shattered screens are frequently involved. An extended guarantee can help safeguard your possessions, but remember that in some cases your homeowner or renter insurance might also be of assistance.

Some insurance undertakings may offer particular electronic coverage choices. Progressive Worth Ave partners, for example, to give coverage of laptops, cellphones, cameras and more on electronic devices. This coverage is quite reasonable and normally covers many dangers, including drops, aquatic dives and theft, rather than ordinary guarantees. In contrast to warranties, this kind of coverage is generally not required to be purchased simultaneously with your equipment and even extended to older gadgets.

Please remember that your deductible will be applied. This means that it may be worth addressing smaller claims – such as a broken iPhone screen.

What hazards does personal property insurance protect against?

Your coverage of personal property will protect your homeowners against the same dangers. Therefore, your goods are protected from additional risks if you have more strong coverage. While you may need more detailed information on your policy paperwork, the following guidance can provide you with an idea of what kind of dangers are insured from.

Named peril

You will be covered by the following dangers if you have a designated hazard policy for your personal property:

1. Fire or flash
2. Hail or windstorm
3. Damage from aircraft
4. Bursts.
5. Riots or civil disturbances
6. Smoke damage
7. Damage caused by vehicles
8. Theft
9. Vandalism
10. Objects falling
11. Volcanic rash
12. Snow damage, ice damage or sleet damage
13. Water damage due to overflow of plumbing, heating or air conditioning
14. Crack, tear and burn water heater
15. Electric current damage
16. Freezing of the pipe

If any of the hazards listed above damages your property, you would be covered up to your policy limits. It's known as a peril policy because all hazards (loss causes) are specified in your policy.

Open peril

Another kind of personal property coverage is known as an open peril policy. All hazards that are not covered are listed here in particular. This coverage is stronger: only the excluded dangers have to demonstrate that the damage has not occurred.

In an open peril policy, the following hazards are excluded from coverage:

1. Freezing pipes and systems in vacant dwellings
2. Damage to ice and water foundations or floors
3. Theft from a dwelling under construction
4. Vandalism towards unoccupied homes
5. Latent flaws, corrosion, smoke and contamination.
6. Wear and tear Settling
7. Pets, other animals and pests
8. Weather conditions which exacerbate other omitted losses
9. Actions of government and association
10. Defective building, design and maintenance

What is not covered by a personal property insurance policy?

There are several risks that insurance companies never cover, irrespective of whether it is a named or open peril policy. You will not have insurance cover if your content is damaged or destroyed by the following dangers:

1. Flood*
2. Hurricane
3. Mold**
4. Vandalism to vacant dwellings
5. Wear and tear
6. Property damage caused by pets
7. Earthquakes
8. Enforcement of building codes and similar laws
9. Intentional acts
10. Neglect
11. Government acts

*Access to your contents by acquiring a flood policy from FEMA and the National Flood Insurance Policy you may add flood and hurricane coverage. This will cover up to $100,000 in material for your own property. If the value of your material surpasses this, take another private flood insurance policy into consideration.

**You can add limited coverage for mold on many standard property insurance policies.

How much home contents insurance coverage should you have?

Although your insurance policy may vary from homeowners insurance policy to another, your personal property coverage usually amounts to between 50% and 70% of your dwelling coverage. When your housing amount is $250,000, you may receive $125,000 to $187,500 coverage for your personal property. Temporary renters policies in personal property coverage are defaulting to $10,000 to $25,000. You can opt for additional coverage if you share your renter's policy with a roommate.

How to create a home inventory for insurance

You generally have flexibility to limit the coverage of your personal property. One way to assess how far you need to cover is to create and maintain an in-house stock. This inventory of your belongings can help you track your personal belongings and show you how much they will need to replace them.

Although it may seem tedious, it is important for you to put together a home inventory for insurance purposes when you have a claim. The thorough you are, the better you will be to make a household inventory. If you are confronted with a damaging loss, the last thing you'll want to do is try to recapture the possessions you lost. A comprehensive list can help you not get a payment, which does not cover all of your belongings, besides making the claims process much smoother. When creating your home inventory list, follow these guidelines:

• Begin with new shopping or valuables.
• Create a comprehensive list of all your properties. Be as detailed as you can.
• Make a different class of items for which special coverage may be necessary (jewelry, art, musical instruments, etc.)
• List group items (i.e., specific clothing items or small kitchen appliances)
• Do not forget important documents such as passports and birth certificates. Make copies and save the originals in a fireproof safe, if possible.
• Store a copy in a safe deposit box or a fire-resistant safe along with an online copy of your home stock.

What's the best way to inventory your property? 5 easy tips for recording your items

The more detailed you can be, the better while listing your items. Consider when you list your items as follows:

• Note the status of the articles.
• To help or to produce video recordings, take pictures of your possessions.
• List model numbers or serial numbers.
• Keep all receipts for sales or other forms of ownership evidence (especially for higher-value items or collectibles).
• Update your home stock as new purchases are added.

Home inventory checklist by room

It can appear overwhelming to start with your home inventory list. One approach is to room by room document your personal items. Below is a sketch of common items in each room to help you get started.

• Living room: sofa, chairs, library (if possible with individual books), artwork, TV, robes, etc.
• Bathroom: hairdryers, bath products, electric trimmers, etc.
• Kitchen: glassware, silverware, small equipment, small appliances, gadgets, tables in the kitchen and chairs.
• Home office: computers, monitors, desks, printers, filing cabinets, desk chairs, plants, documents
• Laundry room: Along with your washer and dryer, make note of any other appliances like a clothes iron, ironing board etc.
• Bedroom: Bed, towels, towels, clothes (be as specific as possible with your clothing items, recalling what you paid for each item).
• Miscellaneous: Items like sports equipment, lawnmowers, and workbenches should also be included. Don't forget about items that may not be stored at your home, including loaned items or items kept in storage.

4 of the best home inventory apps for iOS and Android

It can be an overwhelming task to build a home inventory. Fortunately, there are a collection of mobile applications to help.

• Sortly — Cited by The Balance as the best-in-class home inventory app, Sortly allows you to organize and categorize your belongings in granular detail, down to the serial number. Sortly is available on iOS and Android devices.
• MyStuff2 Pro — This iOS-only application offers a paid version and a smaller home inventory project lightweight free choice.
• Encircle — Encircle is an easy-to-use, forward-looking iOS and Android application. You can use the free option to record the content of your home with photos and use the mobile or desktop to access your items.
• Inventory Manager — This application has been specially designed to collect the inventory of home insurance so that you can easily compute the value of the content of your home. IOS is available for Inventory Manager.

We are not receiving a commission from any of the above home inventory apps; StrongInsurance recommendations are biassed.

Actual cash value vs. replacement cost coverage

You will be paid for your belongings on an actual cash value basis by standard personal property insurance cover. Actual cash value, or ACV, means you are reimbursed for what your belongings are currently worth — not what you originally paid for. On the other hand, replacement costs will reimburse you for the cost of replacing your goods at their original market value.

We recommend that you insure the contents of your personal property on a replacement cost basis. You are better off compensating for your damaged items while it increases your premium.

Tips and additional resources

We recommend that you search for renters, homeowners or condo insurance policy if you want your contents covered. This not only protects your property, but also covers liability, home structure, additional costs and other options in conjunction with your contents coverage. See below for more details about these policies and how much coverage you need.

• Renters insurance
• Home insurance
• Condo insurance

When deciding on your coverage of personal property, be aware of the following advice:

• Pay particular attention to anything that would fall within the category of sublime, take an inventory of all your items.
• Provide replacement costs with your content
• Get insurance quotes from as many companies as possible for the cheapest rate.