Choosing insurance for your first home -blugm.com

1. Choosing Insurance for your first
home
Choosing insurance for your first home doesn’t need to be a chore. There are several
things you can do to make the most of your insurance policy and get the best rate
possible.
Before choosing your insurance policy, make sure you take the time to read and
compare the Product Disclosure Statement. One insurer may have 4 different kinds of
home insurance so make sure you research what is right for you thoroughly.
Make an inventory of all of your furniture, appliances, jewelry and other things which
may be important to you. Be sure to catalogue your things in a spreadsheet. With the
date one which you catalogued these things. Then, make sure you take a video and
photographs of these items. You want proof of ownership to make sure that if anything
goes wrong, you won’t be out of pocket.
If you got a kitchen upgrade, catalogue it. Do not rely on other contractors or service
providers who worked on your home to store information about what they have done
for you. They have many clients, it’s not a reliable way to go about things.
Once you have catalogued these items, find out what you paid for them and when you
paid for them. You don’t need receipts just the timeframe of when you bought
something and how much you bought it for. Then compare how much the item is going
for on the market now. If you bought a TV 2 years ago it is likely being sold for 60% of
what you originally paid.
This inventory will help you ascertain your “Contents”, contents is 2/3’s of your home
policy, as you want to be sure that if something happens that you are covered. Make
sure you read through your PDS because most policies will only cover a nominal
amount of contents, if you have more contents that needs to be covered then you will
need to upgrade your policy.
Most home insurance policies have minimal cover for theft / burglary, fire and flood.
Don’t be fooled, flooding from rain can cause more damage than fire. A home could

2. be condemned due to mold from water damage, needing specialty removals to clean
up the site and rebuild. It’s an expensive process.
The best coverage which is also the most costly, is a comprehensive policy which
covers you from fire, flooding and burglary. Comprehensive insurance is the right
policy for a first home owner. Peace of mind is worth the cost.