Home Insurance New for Old Cover

Ok, you’ve heard people talk about it but what does ‘New for Old’ really mean and how does it affect you?

‘New for old’ is used in the insurance industry to indicate that deductions are not made for wear and tear depreciation when you claim on your contents insurance policy.  This means that if you have to claim on your home insurance for theft, fire, flooding or any other unforeseen circumstance, your existing ‘old’ possessions will be replaced with shiny ‘new’ ones, regardless of any wear and tear that may have occurred during the time that you’ve owned them. Most items are covered, with the exceptions of clothing, household linens and carpets that are over 5 years old, and it means that even though you’ve had to go through the pain of having to claim and the disruption to your home, key household items covered on your policy are replaced so that you and your family can function as normal.

The alternative to new for old cover is ‘indemnity’. Here, depreciation is taken into account when calculating the value of your possessions. See our separate guide on Indemnity Cover so you know what you’re looking for when comparing home insurance quotes.

We know that having to claim on your home insurance is not ideal, so making sure your policy covers you to replace all of your household contents with new goods should make the process so much easier to bear.

Get it Right!

Before you start to shop around for the right home insurance policy, grab your pen and paper and go around your home adding up the value of all the items at their current replacement cost as new, excluding clothes, linens and older floor coverings.

Don’t undervalue your possessions otherwise your insurer may not honour the full value of your claim and you might not be able to replace all of your items on a new for old basis; don’t leave yourself out of pocket. It’s difficult enough dealing with the circumstances surrounding any home insurance claim so make sure your contents are fully protected. 

Check out our informative home insurance guides or get a quote now.