Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Your home is your castle, and you’ve worked hard to fill it with all of your favourite kinds of treasure. Whether that’s a collection of video games, a wardrobe full of designer shoes, or an impressive assortment of ceramic chickens from around the world, King Price home contents insurance covers your stuff so you can enjoy it without worrying about what happens if something goes wrong.
Key takeaways
- Home contents insurance covers everything you'd pack when you move (excluding the physical structure of the house)
- You must insure for the full replacement value, not the second-hand value, of your belongings
- Underinsuring means your claim is paid out proportionately, not in full
- Jewellery worth more than R35,000 must be specified separately on your schedule
- King Price includes free emergency home assist up to 3 times a year
- Use the free King Price inventory form to make sure your cover amount is right
What does home contents insurance cover?
Home contents insurance covers all of the things you’d have to pack up if you moved house. That’s basically everything except the kitchen sink and the physical structure of the building itself (which you can cover separately with King Price buildings insurance).
With King Price, your home contents are covered against:
- Theft
- Fire
- Accidental damage (within reason, amateur WWE matches in the living room may complicate things)
- Replacement value
- The amount it would cost to replace a lost or damaged item with a brand-new equivalent item at today’s prices. This is different from the second-hand or market value of the item.
Understanding underinsurance
This is one of the most important things to get right when you take out home contents insurance. You need to insure your home contents for their total replacement value, which is what it would cost to replace the items you’re claiming for with brand-new items.
If you insure your contents for less than their actual replacement value, King Price will pay your claim proportionately. Here’s a simple example of how that works:
| Scenario | Correct replacement value | Amount insured | Claim payout percentage | What you receive on a R100,000 loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fully insured | R400,000 | R400,000 | 100% | R100,000 |
| Underinsured by 50% | R400,000 | R200,000 | 50% | R50,000 |
| Underinsured by 75% | R400,000 | R100,000 | 25% | R25,000 |
So if the correct total insured value of your home contents at the time of a claim is R400,000 and you’ve only insured them for R200,000, you’ll only be compensated for 50% of your loss. That gap comes out of your pocket, not ours.
It’s always better to be over-insured than underinsured. Please make sure your replacement values are realistic and up to date.
How to work out how much cover you need
Not sure what your home contents are worth? King Price has a free inventory form that walks you through every room in your home so you can tick off your items and add a replacement value to each one. It takes the guesswork out of getting your sum insured right.
How to calculate your home contents sum insured
Use the King Price inventory form to accurately calculate the replacement value of your home contents before getting a quote.
- Supplies:
- King Price inventory form
- List of your home contents
- Recent receipts or valuations for high-value items
- Photos of high-value items showing make and model
- Tools:
- Printer or PDF viewer
- Mobile phone for photos
Download the inventory form
Download the free King Price home contents inventory form at https://www.kingprice.co.za/za/documents/king-price-insurance-inventory-form.pdf
Go room by room
Work through each room in your home and tick off every item, including furniture, appliances, electronics, clothing, and décor.
Add a replacement value to each item
For each item, write down what it would cost to replace it with a new equivalent today, not what you paid for it originally and not what it's worth second-hand.
Photograph high-value items
Take photos of TVs, laptops, gaming consoles, and other high-value items so you have the make and model number on record if you ever need to claim.
Total your replacement values
Add up all of the replacement values. This total is the amount you should insure your home contents for.
Get a quote
Call King Price on 0860 50 50 50 or visit kingprice.co.za to get a quote based on your accurate sum insured.
Got a thing for bling?
Your jewellery is covered by King Price too. There are just a couple of things to keep in mind:
- Any single item of jewellery worth more than R15,000 needs a valuation certificate
- Any jewellery worth more than R35,000 must be specified separately on your insurance schedule
- Jewellery worth more than R35,000 must be kept in a safe when you’re not wearing it
Free emergency home assist
If you have a home contents or buildings insurance policy with King Price, you get the king’s emergency home assist included at no extra cost, up to 3 times a year. Because your safety is always a concern.
Emergency home assist covers the call-out fee and 1 hour’s labour for:
- Plumbers
- Electricians
- Locksmiths
Frequently asked questions
Home contents insurance covers everything inside your home that you'd take with you if you moved, including furniture, electronics, clothing, and appliances. Buildings insurance covers the physical structure of your home, including walls, roof, floors, and fixed fittings. King Price offers both.
If your insured amount is less than the actual replacement value of your contents, your claim will be paid out proportionately. For example, if you're insured for 50% of the correct value, you'll receive 50% of your claim. The inventory form helps you avoid this.
You can download the free inventory form. It guides you room by room through your home so you can calculate the correct replacement value of your belongings.
Any single item of jewellery worth more than R35,000 must be listed separately on your insurance schedule and kept in a safe when not being worn. Items worth more than R15,000 require a valuation certificate.
Call King Price on 0860 50 50 50 and a consultant will help you update your sum insured to reflect the correct replacement value of your contents.
Emergency home assist is included free with your King Price home contents or buildings insurance policy, up to 3 times a year. It covers the call-out fee and 1 hour's labour for plumbers, electricians, and locksmiths.
Last reviewed:
Update history (1)
- Added underinsurance explainer section with proportional payout example table. Added link to updated inventory form. Added how-to steps for calculating correct sum insured. Converted to TL;DR Pro block markup.
Ready to protect the treasures in your castle? Get a home contents insurance quote from King Price or call us on 0860 50 50 50. Already with the king? Call us to make sure your cover amount is right it only takes a few minutes and it could make a big difference when you claim.
