What you need to know about personal property insurance when travelling

The long awaited festive season is here and as some of you might be getting ready to jet off to a luxurious and well-deserved vacation, it’s important to review your insurance policy.

Annelie Smith, corporate executive at Risk Benefit Solution (RBS), noted that in addition to travel insurance, consumers need to make sure that they insure their high value personal belongings.

Smith said: “Personal property such as jewellery, laptops, tablets, phones and cameras are all at increased risk while you are travelling, when in fact it is fairly easy to insure them under the specified items in one’s home contents insurance.”

Consumers also need to know what to expect when it comes to home contents insurance.  “The good thing about insuring personal property under home contents is that the items specified on the policy are insured no matter where they are. It is also quite quick to insure a new item just before you leave on holiday, and your broker can easily add them to your cover on short notice,” revealed Smith.

Most policies will specify that high value items such as jewellery must be kept in a safe while not being worn or used. Smith added: “You also need to have the items valued in order to make sure the full replacement amount is covered. We have seen quite a few instances of consumers only being able to claim for a fraction of the value of their jewellery, because their valuations weren’t up to date.”

Another thing to consider is home contents insurance which, according to Smith, is useful when wanting to insure items over a short period. “You can insure items just for the week or two that you are on holiday, which is especially advantageous for those who want to use their holiday as an opportunity to propose to their partner.”

Smith highlighted that one needs to understand the risk of the country or destination that he or she is travelling to. She concluded: “Make sure your travel and medical insurance policies are in place and take advantage of the flexibility of home contents cover during your holiday.”

Handy tip: If you need a competitive quote on home and content insurance, click here and fill the form and consultant will be in touch with you.