Best contents insurance 2024

What is contents insurance?

Home contents insurance covers the cost of replacing belongings in your home if they're damaged, destroyed or stolen.

Contents insurance can be bought as a standalone policy, or as part of a combined home insurance policy with buildings insurance.

We've analysed 78 contents insurance policies from dozens of providers - here we reveal our scores and Which? Best Buy policies.

Please note that the information in this article is for information purposes only and does not constitute advice. Please refer to the particular terms and conditions of an insurer before committing to any financial products.

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Best contents insurance policies

Click on the links in the table to see our full insurer reviews.

For a broader comparison, check out our best home insurance guide.

What does contents insurance cover?

As a general rule, your 'contents' are the items you would take with you if you moved home.

These include, but are not limited to:

• Furniture: bed, sofa, wardrobe, dining table and chairs
• Kitchenware: cutlery, cookware, microwaves and kettles
• Entertainment: video games, toys, DVDs and CDs
• Soft furnishings: cushions, curtains and bedding
• Electricals: TVs, laptops and game consoles
• Clothes and jewellery
• Ornaments and antiques

There are three main types of contents insurance policy:

1. Bedroom rated - uses the number of bedrooms in your home to calculate the amount of contents cover you get.
2. Sum insured - requires you to calculate the amount of contents cover you need.
3. Unlimited sum - covers all your contents without any limit, so you don't have to worry about being under-insured.

For all types of home insurance, if you need to make a claim, your provider will settle this on either a 'new-for-old' or 'indemnity' basis.

• New-for-old cover means your home insurer will pay for a new product of equivalent value if your insured item is damaged or stolen.
• Indemnity cover takes into account wear and tear on the items you claim for, which reduces the amount you'll get. For example, while it may cost £800 to replace your sofa, you may only get £150 if it's 10 years old with rips and stains.

Since the payout on a new-for-old policy tends to be higher, it can be more expensive than an indemnity policy.

Do you need contents insurance?

We think that for most people, contents insurance is well worth considering. However, the obvious drawback is it costs money - so give some thought to what your specific needs are.

Our contents insurance calculator can help you work out the combined value of your possessions. All else being equal, it's probably not worth paying for £1,00,000 of cover if you only need £10,000. But it goes the other way, too - if you underinsure, your insurer may not pay out the full amount you need in a claim.

Check if you're already covered on someone else's policy. Lots of policies, for example, contain 'student cover' - which covers a member of a household even while they're temporarily living away to study.

Check what other cover you have. You may have other forms of insurance protecting some of your possessions - such as gadget cover or mobile phone insurance. 

Whereas some would want comprehensive insurance protecting against accidental damage, urgent repairs (Home Emergency Cover) and cover for the possessions carried while out and about (personal possessions cover), others will be satisfied with more basic levels of cover. Most policies come with optional features that can be added or tweaked to ensure the cover meets your requirements.

• Find out more: Is flooding covered by my home insurance?

Self insuring

One alternative to owning contents insurance is 'self-insuring'. This is basically putting money into a savings account for repairing or replacing your things. Doing so properly means thinking carefully about the combined value of what you own, and putting money aside regularly into dedicated savings to quickly build up your reserve.

Bear in mind, if you self-insure, you're effectively taking on the risk that you'd otherwise be paying an insurer to shoulder. You might have enough put aside to replace a damaged computer, but a catastrophic event such as a fire or flood has the potential to cost tens of thousands of pounds in damage. 

Contents insurance calculator

Before you start looking for contents insurance quotes, you need to work out the value of your belongings.

Our contents insurance calculator will help you work out the total cost of your possessions.

Simply enter the value of your items in each room.

Why is my contents insurance so high?

Several factors could contribute to high contents insurance premiums:

1. Location: where you live matters. For example, if you reside in London your premiums may be higher due to increased risk factors or higher property values. 
2. Value of possessions: the total value of your belongings affects your insurance costs. If you have a lot of valuable items, such as electronics or jewellery, your premiums will likely be higher. On average, UK homes contain almost £52,000 worth of contents, so accurately assessing your possessions is important to determine coverage needs.
3. Occupation: your job can impact insurance costs. For instance, professionals in fields such as entertainment or finance may pay more than those in the motor trade or retirees. Confused.com data shows that those in the entertainment industry pay an average of £74.12 per year for contents insurance, while retirees pay £46.68.
4. Type of property: the type of home you have influences premiums. Detached houses usually have higher premiums than flats or bungalows. Additionally, factors such as the number of bedrooms and floor level in a flat can affect costs. For example, self-contained flats on higher floors have an average cost of £55.29 for contents insurance, while detached houses average £71.51, according to Confused.com data.
5. Excess amount: your chosen excess amount impacts premiums. Opting for a lower excess usually means higher premiums, while a higher excess can lead to lower premiums. Confused.com data suggests that selecting a £250 excess could save up to 11% annually compared to having no excess.
6. Payment frequency: how often you pay matters too. Paying annually instead of monthly can save you money. Annual payments often come with discounts, potentially reducing your overall cost.
7. Security measures: better security at home can mean lower premiums. Homes with alarms, locks, and CCTV may qualify for discounts. Upgrading security features could help bring down your premiums over time. 

• Find out more: How to make a home insurance claim

More on contents insurance

How we analyse contents insurance

Contents score

Our contents score comes from the overall policy scores we compile for insurers, but minus the buildings insurance elements.

In December 2022 we surveyed 37 insurance companies about the levels of cover in their policies. We rated 40 elements of contents cover, 21 elements of buildings cover, and 25 features that apply to both - such as admin fees. The the policy score reflects how well the policy did overall. The higher it is, the more the more comprehensive the cover.

Certain elements are weighted to have more or less of an impact on the policy score, based on the general level of importance we think it has.

Which? Best Buys

Our 'Best Buy' badge recognises the individual products that stood out as being the most comprehensive in our analysis. 

It doesn't reflect customer service (though you can see which home insurers were also rated highly by customers in our best home insurance guide). However, we won't give a provider a Best Buy badge where there's evidence - either from our surveys or from Financial Conduct Authority data - of poor service or a poorer-than-average record of paying claims.

We give each policy a contents policy score out of 100% - based on our analysis of 40 areas of contents cover, and 25 additional elements such as fees, legal cover and home emergency cover.  

Policies named as Best Buys for contents cover have a minimum policy score of 68%

Additionally, we look at how consistently good the cover is in policies. To make the cut, a policy needs to have scored at least three out of five points in two thirds of the areas we've rated.

Lastly, all Best Buy contents policies must have - or make available - the following levels of cover as a minimum: 

• Accidental damage cover; Theft and damage of contents in the open; Theft and damage of contents from outbuildings; Business equipment; Alternative accommodation (£15,000); Money in the home (£500); Valuables (unspecified single item limit - £1,500); Personal possessions (unspecified single item limit - £1,000); Replacement of locks or keys for external doors (£500)