Accidental Damage Insurance

In addition to buildings insurance and contents insurance, most insurers offer accidental damage insurance for a small additional fee. If you're clumsy, have excitable children or simply have a lot of breakable stuff in your house, it's well worth the money: with most insurance policies if you drop an expensive gadget down the stairs, you're on your own.

Before taking out additional accidental damage insurance it's important to look at the small print of your contents policy: many firms include accidental damage protection for a few items as standard. These items are usually your TV and your stereo, but many insurers will include other items too: Churchill includes home computers and even games consoles.

There's very little to choose between different insurers' policies, but it's important to look for two things: new-for-old cover and the high-risk items limit. The former means that if you break something, the insurer will shell out for a brand new one rather than offer you its used value; the latter is the maximum cover for an individual item. Some insurers' limit is just £1,000 – which might not be enough if you've got expensive computer equipment or a state of the art home cinema setup. Watch the excesses, too: if you go for a higher excess to keep your premium low, then you could end up paying a few hundred quid if you trip over the telly.