How much contents insurance do I need?

Contents insurance is designed to cover you financially in the event of something happening to your stuff. It’s a way of making sure your possessions are looked after, and can protect you whether you’re a renter or own your home. 

But figuring out exactly how much contents insurance cover you need can be difficult. Being under-insured could mean you’re not fully protected if your things are lost, damaged or stolen. Here’s our guide to how much contents insurance you need, and how to make sure you’re covered if the worst happens. 

How does contents insurance work? 

Contents insurance can help you recover financially if your belongings are damaged or lost in a natural disaster, burglary, fire or any other ‘insurable event.’ It can cover everything from the contents of your freezer to your heirloom jewellery, but most insurers need you to name any particularly high-value items to make sure they’re covered under your policy. 

‘Insurable events’ includes things like: 

• Your possessions being lost or damaged in a fire or explosion
• Your stuff being stolen, whether it’s through your house being burgled or having your bag stolen while you’re out
• Your things being damaged by someone else 
• Weather, like rain or sun, damaging your things 
• Your legal liability, in some circumstances.  

How to calculate how much contents insurance cover you need 

Before that disaster strikes, you need to figure out the value of all of your belongings – that is how much it would cost to replace everything you own. It can be difficult to estimate this, and often people only think about the big ticket items and forget about the cost of replacing more everyday things like cutlery and bed sheets, which can add up quickly. 

If you’re getting contents insurance for the first time or updating an existing policy, it’s a good idea to do a bit of an audit of everything you own, to make sure you’ve got the right amount of contents insurance. Make a list of each room in your house, and take note of the stuff in every room, both big and small. Then, go through and note what each item would cost to buy new – you might need to search online for retail prices of similar items. Make sure you also include things in your garage or shed, or anything in storage. 

The total price of your belongings will determine how much you pay for contents insurance. It’s important to price your belongings as accurately as possible to ensure that you don’t over or underpay for insurance. You don’t want to be paying for more than you need, but if you are insured for too little you may be unable to replace everything you need.

Although it’s not required, it’s a good idea to take photos of each item to have a record and save these photos on a cloud storage service or email them to yourself.

If you’re curious about how much contents insurance cover you should get, try our contents insurance calculator. This easy tool helps you work out how much your things might be worth, and how much contents cover you’ll need for them. 

Don’t get caught out – common situations where contents insurance won’t cover you 

Market value vs new-for-old

Often insurers determine cover by a ‘market price’ for the item, which can depreciate over time. For example, the smartphone you bought new in 2019 won’t be valued the same as the latest model on the market now, even if it cost you a lot at the time. So if that phone is lost, stolen or damaged, you’ll end up paying out of pocket to make up the difference for a new model. 

MAS contents insurance offers ‘replacement value,’ or new-for-old cover, so if your phone is stolen, you’ll be able to replace it with the current equivalent. 

Keep your cover up-to-date

Keeping your contents insurance up-to-date is just as important as getting cover in the first place. Birthdays and holidays can fly by with friends, family and celebrations, but this could be when you receive a new item worthy of insurance. If your wish for a new Nintendo Switch or the latest smartphone was granted, you should make sure your contents insurance covers the value of your new gear. Our guide to whether gifts are covered by contents insurance can help.

Specify your expensive items 

It’s easy to spot the big ticket items for your contents list – a giant TV, shiny gold jewellery or an electric bike are hard to ignore. However, when applying for cover you must itemise all high-value pieces to make sure they’re covered.

If you have a MAS Contents Insurance Policy, you need to itemise any sports equipment, electronics, or music gear worth more than $5,000; any jewellery, watches or bikes worth more than $8,000; and individual pieces of art worth more than $25,000. 

Contents insurance for the small things 

The contents of your freezer, or your bathroom cabinet aren’t the first thing you think of when it comes to insuring the contents of your home. These small but essential items can often be overlooked when collating a contents list, however, if you added up the cost of replacing them, the bill would be substantial. Make sure to open every cupboard, check every drawer and peek in the freezer when applying for contents insurance. 

MAS contents insurance at a glance 

MAS provides contents insurance cover for all your possessions, plus some handy extras too. As well as new-for-old cover, MAS contents insurance includes benefits like covering your gear anywhere within Aotearoa New Zealand, helping with alternative accommodation, and can help if you or a member of your household are a victim of cyberbullying. 

Find out how much contents insurance cover you need, or find out more about MAS contents insurance today.