The first step is to consider your needs.

Starting with the basics

Maybe you just need to insure the contents of the building?
Do you consider yourself accident prone?
Are you the owner of the buildings?
Do you share the building with other tenants?
Do you have children?
What sort of house or flat do you live in and do you have a lot of collectibles or just simple, basic furniture?

Bear in mind that you have to choose (for both home and contents) if you need, and can pay for, accidental damage cover or if you can live with just the normal risks. .

Nowadays, most online insurers calculate the minimum value of a building based on the type of building and number of bedrooms combined with your post code. You are then invited to increase this valuation if your property is particularly well preserved or if it has additions such as a conservatory or converted loft. It should be remembered that this estimate is for the cost of rebuilding the house, it doesn't include the cost of the land that the property is built upon.

When considering the contents you have two choices. You could write down a list of everything you have and note beside it the cost of replacement (you want 'new for old' cover don't you?). If that sounds too much like hard work then you might consider a 'bedroom rated' policy i.e. the number of bedrooms in the property is used to determine the level of contents valuation. It would save all that work but you would be very likely to be paying out a higher premium for higher sums insured than you need to.

Next, you must think about all those special items and valuable pieces you have. If you have any valuable jewellery, antiques or works of art, we always suggest that you have them listed as specified items on your policy. This will add to the policy cost but it is worth the additional cost. Before listing them, get each piece professionally valued (and if jewellery, gem checked) and get each piece photographed. Similarly with bicycles, laptop computers, expensive camcorders, PDA's and so on. Indeed, anything of value that you are likely to take outside the house.

Fourth, I propose that you take out cover for unspecified items away from the home. This option should also give you accident damage cover for these items within the home. This is essential cover for everybody that ventures past their front door! It also covers you for your basic baggage whilst on vacation thus saving you on your travel insurance. And the cover is better! (Travel insurance providers always pays indemnity - i.e. item value minus wear and tear. Your unspecified items cover, if you follow my advice, is 'new for old' - except clothes).

Fifth - liability cover. This is a must have. It is always provided free with your other cover. Make sure you have it on contents plus buildings if you are the owner. If you do not own buildings, then the liability cover on contents is fine on its own. It's a bit like having 'third party' cover on your car (although not compulsory by law).

Lastly, there are the 'freebies' that many insurers now provide. Services such as emergency assistance providers or free legal help sound like a good idea but you really shouldn't let these extras affect your buying decision

Now all that's required is to buy the policy that you want. Chose an insurer that has a good reputation, even if it costs a little more. (All of the insurers featured on our site have a good reputation !)..and of course they offer great value for money.

This article was written by Terry Cod. He has many years of experience working as a claims adjuster with a number of UK insurance companies. His website http://www.instant-online-insurance.co.uk offers cheap home insurance