Insurance
The Different Types of Insurance That You Can Get Are:
Home Insurance
Having home insurance provides you with piece of mind. Should anything happen to your possessions, then you can at least be compensated.
Buildings Insurance
If you own your own home then this will insure the house should an accident occur (like if your pipes burst and the house becomes flooded).
Contents Insurance
This covers all your possessions inside your home. Policies can offer old for new should these possessions be stolen or damaged and includes accidental damage cover for electrical items. If you have valuable items these should be stated in your policy i.e. jewellery if it has a high value. You will be asked to give an estimated value of your contents. This is quite a hard thing to do and nine times out of ten we probably underestimate the value of our goods. Work your way through each room, for example, count how many CDs or DVDs you have. These can amount to a lot. Put an average cost on your items, and add them up, it is never good to under insure your contents.
Pet Insurance
Your can insure your rabbit, cat, dog, horse and exotic animals.
Vet bills can be costly and sometimes an unexpected cost if your pet has an accident. Older animals could be prone to some illnesses and pet insurance could cover these. There are many different policies so do lots of research to find the right cover for the right price.
Travel Insurance
When travelling you should always take out insurance. We are lucky in this country to have a free medical service. Should you need to visit a hospital abroad, there will be costs. Insurance will also cover loss of luggage, personal belongings like money or passports, delays to flights, or cancellations.
There are many online comparison sites that offer travel insurance. Make sure that you check the specifics of the policy, especially the excess, ensure that it covers all aspects of your trip, remember the cheapest deal might not always be the best cover.
If you are lucky enough to have more than one holiday a year, it may be cheaper to take out a years cover instead of a single trip. There is also cover available for families.
There is a free European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) which entitles the holder to medical treatment in state run hospitals in any EU country plus Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland at the same cost as a local. All members of the family should have their own card. You can obtain forms from the post office, or access the EHIC website for full details.
This website links to the foreign commonwealth. This will give you advice on the country you are travelling to, and things to be aware of:
http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/
Council Housing & Insurance
The Highland Council has builings insurance cover for all properties that are let to tenants, however it is not responsible for insuring your funiture or personal belongings.
Home contents insurance is available from a number of insurance companies.
The Highland Council Home Contents Insurance
Tips
- Always shop around for the best deal don’t accept the first quote
- Many insurers will phone when you research a quote don’t feel pressured to accept because they called.
- You may buy large items for your home for example a television, remember to make sure you update your home insurance to account for your purchases.
