UK - home insurance recommendations

[rolexdream]

Hi

Just wondering what home insurance company people use to cover their watches? I have used admiral and aviva previously and they cover accidental loss as well as theft, but some of the cheaper quotes (eg Home protect) dont cover loss only theft when the watch is on you wrist or in your sight and there has been a forced break in for example, they are only quoting £100 for home contents and 25k of named items

Can anyone recommend any companies who do contents insurance with full coverage not just theft or when the watch is stolen from your wrist?

Thanks

[Mr Ben]

You could take a look at M&S Premier - unlimited rebuild and unlimited contents cover and it’s all quite customisable. It’s an Aviva backed policy.

You can opt for which items are covered in and out the house - my watches for example are covered up to total £50k limit and £15k per watch including out of the home/ taking them overseas. It also covers art and bikes and things and no need to list any individual items on your policy.

Numbers will be different for each person but, for me, it does cost slightly more than other home insurance but is significantly cheaper than taking out specific watch insurance in addition to a home policy. It’ll likely only work out if your watches and valuables are within their standard policy limits.

[SamArj]

NFU is good.

[rolexdream]

Originally Posted by Mr Ben

You could take a look at M&S Premier - unlimited rebuild and unlimited contents cover and it’s all quite customisable. It’s an Aviva backed policy.

You can opt for which items are covered in and out the house - my watches for example are covered up to total £50k limit and £15k per watch including out of the home/ taking them overseas. It also covers art and bikes and things and no need to list any individual items on your policy.

Numbers will be different for each person but, for me, it does cost slightly more than other home insurance but is significantly cheaper than taking out specific watch insurance in addition to a home policy. It’ll likely only work out if your watches and valuables are within their standard policy limits.

Thanks can i ask how much you pay for that?

[Harry-57]

I use M&S Premier, although they only cover valuables up to a fixed total limit and each item up to a fixed limit - the reason I'm not quoting numbers is that I can't remember off hand what the exact figures are but the cover is Ok for most situations. The exceptions in my case being what I would recover if all my watches were lost or stolen as a job lot, and one watch which is worth more than what the insurance would pay, which is covered separately by Ripe Insurance.

From time to time I look into other policies and so far it always ends up with the website telling me I need special cover and should phone them. I did get one provisional quote from a specialist company for full cover for just my watches which came out at several thousand quid a year. It's the ever present risk to benefit ratio. Mine feels about right for me.

[Mr Ben]

Originally Posted by rolexdream

Thanks can i ask how much you pay for that?

I can’t remember exactly but it’s somewhere in ballpark of about £450. I’m in a traditional old stone and slate house in a low risk area so I don’t know how comparable that would be to London rates.

Similar to Harry, I was being quoted very high for watch only insurance so getting home, contents, watches, jewellery, bikes, art all covered for that is a no brainer for me.

My other half also likes the fact that the policy limits stop me going out and buying a Daytona, Patek or a VC Overseas or anything more expensive as well!

[Space1970]

Originally Posted by SamArj

NFU is good.

The NFU are great but they didn’t used to offer policies for homes inside the M25
This might of changed and if so I’d highly recommend them

[Matty99365]

I use Highworth Insurance.

[MikePRT]

Originally Posted by Harry-57

I use M&S Premier, although they only cover valuables up to a fixed total limit and each item up to a fixed limit - the reason I'm not quoting numbers is that I can't remember off hand what the exact figures are but the cover is Ok for most situations. The exceptions in my case being what I would recover if all my watches were lost or stolen as a job lot, and one watch which is worth more than what the insurance would pay, which is covered separately by Ripe Insurance.

From time to time I look into other policies and so far it always ends up with the website telling me I need special cover and should phone them. I did get one provisional quote from a specialist company for full cover for just my watches which came out at several thousand quid a year. It's the ever present risk to benefit ratio. Mine feels about right for me.

A word of warning, as I very recently used to be with m&s for home insurance (£50k max valuables with £15k single item limit), and like you had a watch above £15k insured separately with another company and was told by M&S during a routine enquiry that the fact I have an item above £15k in the house would void my whole m&s policy. Doesn’t matter that this item is insured by another company and you wouldn’t claim for it with m&s. Obviously I was shocked to hear this and thought the person at m&s misquoted the terms, so called back again and spoke to someone else but was told exactly the same thing. I suppose having an item above £15k would make you more susceptible to a break-in thus increasing the risk.

If you were to have a complete loss (break-in or fire) you’d have to probably put on some report the £15k + item thus making it visible to m&s and giving them grounds to cancel/void the policy and not pay. Now you may be comfortable with insurance fraud if/when the time comes but not a risk I was willing to take when potentially a lot of money is involved.

It is worth you checking this with m&s but I’m pretty certain they will tell you the same…just when you call don’t give them you policy details as you don’t want them cancelling your policy!! Let me know how you get on.

I’ve had to minimise my collection as the insurance quotes I was getting were ridiculous. Now with Aviva where I have a few watches above £15k specified amongst other watches and jewellery.


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[exp90]

Is that Aviva just for watches, or contents inc watches? I’m looking at the same scenario and debating whether to find an all in policy versus isolating watches to their own.

[MikePRT]

Originally Posted by exp90

Is that Aviva just for watches, or contents inc watches? I’m looking at the same scenario and debating whether to find an all in policy versus isolating watches to their own.

Aviva for contents including my watches.

But if having a separate policy for your high value items you need to make sure having the high value items (even though insured by someone else) does not void your home policy (as was the case with me and m&s).


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[Vitzz]

Good thread and I was going to ask about who people used for their insurance.

I currently have mine with Admiral as a high risk item but their policy of coverage up to £10K without proper valuation from a specialist is the only caveat.

I've heard other vendors can take a Chrono24 valuation, but Admiral need a more formal valuation.

[TheRtHonA]

So I’ve used Hiscox in the past but I found them a little expensive but very easy to deal
With. Everything was insured provided it was either on my wrist or in a safe. I then switched to Aviva to tie up home contents and watches. It was a bit of a faff but got there in the end and same requirements as Hiscox.

[Wilco68]

I recently changed my home insurance to MBNA. It was cheaper and less hassle re watches than Admiral who I switched from.

[bp1000]

Originally Posted by MikePRT

A word of warning, as I very recently used to be with m&s for home insurance (£50k max valuables with £15k single item limit), and like you had a watch above £15k insured separately with another company and was told by M&S during a routine enquiry that the fact I have an item above £15k in the house would void my whole m&s policy.

That's wild.

Funny how you can have a car worth 100k "in" your house, like in a garage attached to your house and that is not even mentioned on a house insurance quote and it's insured elsewhere. Yet a watch thats say 20k and insured elsewhere voids the whole thing.

[MikePRT]

Originally Posted by bp1000

That's wild.

Funny how you can have a car worth 100k "in" your house, like in a garage attached to your house and that is not even mentioned on a house insurance quote and it's insured elsewhere. Yet a watch thats say 20k and insured elsewhere voids the whole thing.

I guess it’s a contents policy, so would cover contents inside the house. A car isn’t usually included in contents policies so why it’s value isn’t consider in relation the the £15k single item limit.


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[Mr Ben]

This topic has been raised a few times in relation to the U.K. market. I came back to it today to see if there were any other options people had mentioned and it’s always the same few companies mentioned.

It does seem to be a very poorly provided product in the U.K. insurance market. Perhaps it’s too niche, perhaps the market isn’t big enough or the risk is too high but I find it hard to believe that claims rates would be much different to somewhere like the US which has better options and pricing.

I actually had about 15 years of self insurance before finding my current provider because companies just weren’t interested. The pricing of the more recent specialist entrants to the market has been disappointingly high to say the least and it’s still very difficult once you get to £15k+ on a watch.