HomeInsuranceComparison

Core insurance concepts

Contents Insurance

Contents insurance (UK) or personal property coverage (US) covers your movable belongings against theft, fire, water damage and other defined perils. Understanding replacement cost vs ACV for contents is critical — many base policies default to ACV.

Definition

Contents insurance covers your movable personal belongings — furniture, appliances, electronics, clothing, jewellery, bicycles, and other portable items — against defined perils including theft, fire, flooding, and accidental damage (where included).

In the UK, contents insurance is sold as a standalone product or combined with buildings cover. In the US, personal property coverage is bundled into the standard homeowners (HO-3) policy and into renters (HO-4) and condo (HO-6) policies.

What a contents policy typically covers

  • Furniture: sofas, beds, wardrobes, dining sets
  • Appliances: washing machine, dishwasher, fridge, microwave
  • Electronics: TVs, laptops, phones, gaming consoles
  • Clothing and footwear
  • Jewellery and watches (often subject to a single-item limit of £1,500 or $1,500 — items above this need to be specifically listed)
  • Sports equipment, bicycles (often subject to sub-limits or exclusions off-premises)
  • Cash, up to a defined limit (typically £200-£500 / $200-$500)

What is typically excluded

  • Items you own for business use
  • Motor vehicles and their accessories
  • Pets
  • Items left in an unoccupied home for more than 30-60 consecutive days (check your specific policy)
  • Wear and tear, mechanical or electrical breakdown (unless equipment breakdown is added)

The critical question: ACV or replacement cost for contents?

Many base policies default personal property / contents to actual cash value (ACV) — meaning the insurer pays the depreciated market value of destroyed items, not what it costs to replace them.

On a sofa you bought 5 years ago for $900: a furniture depreciation schedule might value it at $270. You receive $270 and spend $700-$900 replacing it. The gap is $430-$630 on one item. Multiply across a full contents claim (fire, burglary, flooding) and the gap can run to tens of thousands.

Replacement cost coverage for personal property pays what the item would cost to replace new today. It costs more — typically $80-$200/year extra for US homeowners, less for UK combined policies. For most households with electronics, appliances, and furniture accumulated over years, replacement cost coverage for contents is worth the additional premium.

Carriers that default to RCV for personal property: Hippo (standard). Carriers that default to ACV with RCV as an optional upgrade: most standard US carriers including the major Policygenius panel members.

Contents insurance for renters

If you rent your home, you do not need buildings insurance — your landlord carries that. You do need contents insurance for your belongings. In the US, this is a renters (HO-4) policy. In the UK, it is a contents-only policy. The coverage is the same product; the name differs.

Lemonade is a strong starting point for US renters insurance: fast application, competitive pricing in supported states, and ACV-to-RCV upgrade available. UK renters should compare via two or three comparison sites, plus Direct Line direct.