From valuable paintings to hidden treasures, are your contents covered?

Do you keep tabs on the items you have in your home and how much they’re worth? Accumulating items over several years can make the contents of your home worth more than your current insurance policy will cover.

The average threebedroom property contains items worth up to £55,000.

Insurance policies often include limits on the total amount that can be claimed, as well as on the amount that can be claimed for any individual item. Typically, the single item claim limit is between £1,000 and £2,000, but this will be dependent on your provider.

Items that you’ve inherited – an old vase, a clock or even a piece of furniture – can be hidden treasures and could be worth a fortune.

It’s best to get such items valued by an expert; if they have been in your family for decades, they might be worth a considerable amount of money.

You might have any number of expensive items dotted around your home – perhaps gathering dust on a shelf or in the attic. For example, did you know that a first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone fetched £60,000 at auction recently?

So, it may be worth checking those boxes in the loft to see if your children or grandchildren have left behind any hidden treasures.

Make sure that you have the correct level of home and contents insurance. In addition, if you have purchased an item that you know to be of significant value, then it stands to reason that you should update your contents cover to reflect this. Although your monthly/yearly premium will increase,it’s a small amount in comparison to having your valuables stolen or damaged.

You can find policies that will cover some items for up to £5,000 and, in some cases, policies will offer unlimited cover for expensive items.

Revaluing your items on a yearly basis will ensure that your policy remains adequate. Item prices can fluctuate in the same way as gold or stocks do, so if your item increases drastically over the course of the year and you don’t declare the change, you will only be entitled to the recorded value.

Always keep as much documentation as possible.

Keep your valuation certificates, receipts and anyother documentation that gives evidence of value and proof of ownership.

Get peace of mind and easily compare cover with quality Telegraph Home Insurance.