Antiques: How Will They Affect My Home Insurance Premium?

When it comes to home insurance quotes, every antique is assessed on a case-by-case basis, so you can just get blanket cover and think that’ll do. Don’t overlook the importance of getting your antiques or memorabilia and collectibles valued before you get your home insurance quotes. You can make two mistakes by not availing of this service: you’ll either underinsure, losing huge amounts of money should the item get lost, stolen or damaged, or over-insure, causing you to pay over the odds for your annual premium.

And because the value of antiques and art can fluctuate hugely over time, a valuation perhaps once a decade would be very wise – and is highly recommended. It’s important that you get a professional to do it, too, and that you do some of your own research using antique industry reference books. The Concise Dictionary of Antique Collecting is a great reference book, and contains explanations of over 6,500 universal trade terms.

Usually, an insurance valuation will be put at roughly 20 per cent over the item’s current sale value which ensures that if the worst happens, the pay-out is more accurate at the time of the incident – and will, of course, result in a higher premium. However, if you’re not happy to pay the extra, you can get a ‘market valuation’ from auction prices – although this is a risky tactic.

Some people underinsure in the hope that they’ll never be the victim of fire, flood or burglary, or that they’ll be able to make up the difference themselves should anything happen. And some of these people aren’t aware that their insurance policy probably also includes a clause which means can reject a claim completely if they suspect that the item has been underinsured.

And finally, check the policy for limits on the claim amount – something that most policies do contain, detailing the total amount for any claim and for specific items… Plus, there might be restrictions on the situation in which certain or all items are lost, stolen or damaged.