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Antiques can be a great investment, and can really make your house look great too. Antique buying and selling has become more popular and diversified in recent years, with TV programs like Bargain Hunt, Cash in The Attic, The Antiques Roadshow and Lovejoy bringing antiques to the mainstream.
It’s important to get valuable items protected through insurance, in order to make sure that they are amply covered in the event of damage, theft or loss, and also for your own peace of mind.
Home insurance policies can be roughly split into two categories. These are as follows:
Buildings Insurance
Buildings insurance covers your home’s physical structure, along with its outbuildings (like sheds, garages, summerhouses or even toilets), permanent fixtures and fittings and windows. It is a legal requirement for homeowners and landlords, although tenants in rented accommodation need not invest in a policy.
Contents insurance
Contents insurance provides cover for the items in your home, which could include antiques. An accurate sum in which to insure your belongings for should always be provided to your insurer so you’re not left out of pocket in the event of having to make a claim. It’s best to go through the belongings that you wish to insure on a room by room basis so you have an accurate record of items should you need to make a claim.
Contents insurance policies tend to offer cover up to a certain amount, but not over. Therefore, it might be worth taking out a separate policy for an individual item if it is of particularly high value.
When deciding on your contents insurance policy, you should decide whether to opt for indemnity or new-for-old cover.
The former will pay for the cost of the item, minus depreciation from the time it was bought. New for old cover on the other hand, will provide a like-for-like replacement, or in the case of unique items like antiques, its total cost. Therefore, it’s a good idea to get your antique items valued regularly so by an expert so you can be sure that the sum you’ve given your insurer is accurate.
It’s also worthwhile carefully studying the exclusions of the policy that you chose. Exclusions are circumstances in which you will not be able to make a claim. They vary from insurer to insurer, but there are several fairly universal exclusions. A frequent one tends to be the exclusion of any cover for theft if the items have been removed from a home without there being a break in, caused by a person leaving windows or doors unlocked when they leave the house.
With antiques, repair is often preferable to outright replacement, particularly if it’s an item that you and your family are particularly fond of. Always make sure that the repairs are carried out by a company with a good reputation. Ask around friends, relatives or colleagues for a recommendation. You could even turn to the internet for advice. When consulting a repair specialist, ask to see examples of their work, so you can get a good idea of their capabilities.
To find a good deal on insurance for your antiques, you could start your search with a comparison website. These types of website will allow you to rapidly search for a cheap deal, by aggregating quotes from a wide selection of insurance providers and displaying the price, features and benefits accordingly. Always make sure you take the cover and features of the policy into account as well as the price so that you can be certain that your insurance will provide amply in the case of you having to make a claim.
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Latest Antiques
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