Both home buildings and contents covers can be extended for a higher premium to include accidental damage. For buildings, this would provide protection against damage to the fabric of the building by accidents such as putting a foot through a ceiling, or a nail through a water pipe. A home contents policy extended in this way would cover, for example, the accidental dropping of a pot of paint on a living room carpet.

 

There is one final level of cover that is referred to as ‘all risks’. Most basic home contents cover provide a modest level of cover for items damaged or lost at a place away from the main home e.g. an hotel. If you have property that are worth more than the policy limit, such as jewellery or cameras, you should opt for an ‘all risks’ cover and select a specific sum insured for each item. The term ‘all risk’ is a bit misleading because there are some exclusions. They are few in number and the main ones are breakage of such items as china and glass, wear and tear, climatic damage and damage by vermin.