If you have a mortgage then your mortgage provider will require that you have adequate insurance on the building itself, but we would suggest that home insurance in general is a good idea. Insuring your property against damage, theft, fire etc is a gsensible step, especially as many people now have homes full of expensive possessions.

To take an extreme case first, just imagine if your house caught fire and was burnt down - without any insurance to pay for the rebuild, your whole life would be turned upside down. House fires are rare these days but you can imagine what the impact would be.

Thankfully crime rates are reducing slowly, but house break-ins and burglaries are not uncommon, depending on where you live. Experiencing a break-in can be a traumatic affair anyway, with or without insurance, but knowing that your possessions and any damage will be taken care of, can make things a lot less stressful.

Lots of all together more trivial events become minor irritations with proper insurance in place. A plumbing leak, accidental damage, storm damage or loss of valuable possessions away from the home can all be covered.

Insurance companies value their cover in different ways, especially for contents cover - so think carefully about what you need and get adequate cover. Some companies base contents cover on the value of the home itself, some base it on the number of bedrooms while some expect you to calculate exactly the value of your contents. Here are some examples of average values to get you thinking:

• Home entertainment equipment - £2500 to £4500
• Clothing - £10,000
• Childrens Toys - £1000
• Baby equipment - £1250