Insuring the contents of your home

We recommend everyone has contents insurance to protect their valuables. You can get it from any provider, but we designed our scheme for tenants and leaseholders.

Benefits of our scheme

We provide insurance through Aviva, but you can only get this policy and the benefits from us.

Everyone can insure contents valued from £4,000 to £40,000, but it is cheaper for people 60 years old or older.

With our policy you:

  • do not need a bank account
  • can pay along with your rent every week, 2 weeks, 4 weeks or month
  • can change or cancel your policy for free
  • can claim and this will not make your insurance more expensive
  • have no excess to pay, except £100 for accidental damage and personal belonging claims

This means if you accidentally damage a TV worth £300, you pay £100 towards replacing it. Your insurance pays the other £200.

Your policy will automatically renew every year. We will send you a renewal letter every year in May.

How to apply

You can:

  • call 0191 525 5678
  • use the form from the prospectus booklet you got when you signed your tenancy agreement

Making a claim

Aviva deal with all claims. To make an emergency claim, you can:

Aviva will respond to your claim and complete an inspection within 10 days of you making a claim if an inspection is needed.

What the standard insurance policy covers

Contents at home

This policy insures your contents, up to the amount insured, when they are in your:

  • home
  • garden
  • outbuildings like garages, sheds and greenhouses

There is some cover for when contents are temporarily taken out of your house, like keys.

Damage caused by fire, flood and theft

This includes replacing:

  • keys and external locks if keys are lost or stolen
  • food if your fridge-freezer breaks down
  • carpets and wallpaper damaged because of a water leak

Damage caused by a neighbour

Damage caused by a neighbour is usually accidental like a water leak from a flat above you or fire damage from next door. Your insurance will cover the damage. But you cannot use their insurance to make a claim.

Accidental damage

Some contents, up to the amount insured, are insured for accidental damage. This includes:

  • audio, video or computer equipment in your home, like TVs and DVD players
  • CCTV cameras fixed to your home
  • mirrors
  • glass tops
  • ceramic hobs
  • fixed glass in furniture or cookers

You can pay extra to cover all accidental damage.

You must pay a £100 excess for accidental damage and personal belonging claims.

Replacing your contents up to the amount insured

It is important when you work out the full value of your contents to find out how much it will cost to replace them. If you undervalue your contents, you will not get the full value of your contents.

We will replace clothing and linen at their current value, less an amount for any wear and tear. For the rest of your home contents, we will replace damaged goods with new items or pay you the value of the item.

For contents you have bought on hire purchase, we will replace the item, not pay the hire purchase price.

If you do not have a receipt, we can use a box or photographs of the item as proof.

Personal liability and tenant’s liability insurance

This covers you for up to 20% of the amount insured if you are legally responsible for:

  • injury to a third party or damage to their property
  • damage to Gentoo’s property

How much our scheme costs

The higher the value of your contents, the higher the cost to insure them.

There are also different costs depending on your age. Costs for people 60 years old or older and costs for people under 60 years old.

Personal belongings extra cover

This insures your belongings, up to the amount insured, when they are away from home. They must be in the United Kingdom.

Your belongings are insured against theft, accidental loss and damage to:

  • clothing
  • handbags
  • jewellery
  • mobile phones and tablets
  • pedal cycles
  • watches

There are some restrictions on what we cover. For example, pedal cycles must be properly secured when you leave them somewhere.

You must pay a £100 excess for accidental damage and personal belonging claims.

You can insure personal belongings worth £1,000 to £4,000. Insuring:

  • £1,000 worth of belongings costs 91 pence a week
  • £2,000 worth of belongings costs £1.82 a week
  • £3,000 worth of belongings costs £2.73 a week
  • £4,000 worth of belongings costs £3.64 a week

Prices include Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) charged at the appropriate rate. Terms and conditions apply.

Wheelchairs and mobility scooters extra cover

You can insure wheelchairs and mobility scooters worth £1,000 to £4,000. Insuring:

  • £1,000 worth of wheelchairs and mobility scooters costs 76 pence a week 
  • £2,000 worth of wheelchairs and mobility scooters costs £1.52 a week
  • £3,000 worth of wheelchairs and mobility scooters costs £2.28 a week
  • £4,000 worth of wheelchairs and mobility scooters costs £3.04 a week

Prices include Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) charged at the appropriate rate. Terms and conditions apply.

Hearing aids extra cover

You can insure hearing aids worth £1,000 to £4,000. It costs:

  • £1,000 worth of hearing aids costs 76 pence a week 
  • £2,000 worth of hearing aids costs £1.52 a week
  • £3,000 worth of hearing aids costs £2.28 a week
  • £4,000 worth of hearing aids costs £3.04 a week

Prices include Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) charged at the appropriate rate. Terms and conditions apply.

Paying your home contents insurance

Find out more about paying rent and other charges.

What you are not insured for

You are not insured if something, like a fridge-freezer, is not working because of:

  • wear and tear
  • electrical and mechanical breakdown
  • gradual deterioration

You are also not insured for:

  • wet or dry rot
  • storm damage to fences, gates and hedges
  • damage caused by chewing, scratching or fouling by domestic animals
  • intentional damage by you, paying guests or tenants
  • motorised vehicles like cars, boats, caravans or trailers

Further information

Home contents insurance prospectus booklet (PDF, 257 KB)

Home contents insurance disclaimer (PDF, 131KB)

Policy information

Acceptance restrictions may apply for conviction and claims experience.

The policy is underwritten by Aviva Insurance Limited who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Aviva Insurance Limited, Registered in Scotland Number 2116. Registered Office: Pitheavlis, Perth PH2 0NH. Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.

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