When it comes to insuring your property, you cannot be too overcautious when considering how much to insure both the building and the contents for. Let's face it, if the worst happens and you lose everything in a fire or flood then it will be too late if you suddenly realise that you have under insured your home and belongings.
Many people tend to scrimp on their property insurance as they look on it as a way to save money in the short term, but in the long term scheme of things it could cost you dear and while you are advised to get several quotes both from local firms and internet money market companies, the main criteria is that you are covered for the right value and correct conditions.
For the actual house itself, don't necessarily go on the market value of the house, but ask yourself rather, how much it would cost you to build from new if the building was totally destroyed.
Sometimes this figure is actually lower than market value especially if you have a lot of valuable land attached to the house.
For your belongings, make sure that you keep a rough inventory of everything you own, and make sure that you know the value of the most expensive items to give you a good idea of what everything is worth.
