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When the unexpected happens, home insurance can be a godsend for you, your family, and your belongings. No one wants to have their home destroyed by a fire or vandalised, but with appropriate home insurance, you can rest assured your best interests are kept in mind at all times. Perhaps that is why Sainsbury's Bank offers a “New For Old” promise – making the process of getting your life back together that much easier. What exactly does “New For Old” mean? By definition, “New For Old” is defined as a feature offered by some insurance companies as where the replacement cost of goods are determined and paid instead of the historic – actual – value of the goods at the time of the loss or damage. What this means in easy to understand terms is that instead of getting the depreciated value for a sofa or dining room table the new replacement value is considered so the insured party gets a better replacement than what was lost. How can this “Old For New” feature save you heartache? Simple. While Sainsbury's Bank can not offer to replace the favourite blanket you have had since you were a child, it understands the importance of having familiar items you cherish around you. When fire, flooding, or theft occurs, you want those cherished items around you to comfort, but since Sainsbury's Bank can not replace your treasured item it wants to help you develop attachments to new items and possessions without feeling your insurer was only getting away with paying the minimum amount possible on your claim. So what exactly is covered by this “New For Old” policy? The contents of your home. If you were to pick up your home and shake everything out onto the ground, everything on the ground would be considered contents. However, high risk and single article items do have limits which means these should be noted – and an appropriate price negotiated – separately to the main policy. Failure to do this might mean a few extra pennies per month, but it might also mean invalidating your ‘good faith’ with the insurer (insurance contracts are subject to what is termed ‘good faith’ agreements – what this means is that both parties have to be completely honest with the facts (as far as you understand them to be true) at all times during the contract). High risk items include: personal computers, audio or digital players, DVD equipment, televisions, collectibles such as stamps, coins, and medals, microscopes, camcorders, telescopes, precious metals, furs, watches, artwork, and jewellery made from precious metals. Limits apply according to the limit selected in the policy from £5,000 to £15,000 total with any single item having a limit of £1,500. In addition, some items may be covered for guests and visitors to your covered property. Not only are you covered, but everyone and everything in your home is covered – how many insurance providers can make such a claim? Losing some or all of your belongings is one of the hardest tragedies to overcome when the unexpected happens whether by accident or theft. The last thing you should have to worry about during this tragedy is whether or not your insurance provider will cover the cost of replacing the contents of your property. Sainsbury's Bank has built an image around providing policy holders excellent service and top of the line replacements of possessions. Sainsbury's Bank offers protection from fire, theft, lightning, earthquake, explosion, flood, storm, water damage, vandalism, riot and civil commotion, accidental breakage, falling tree, bushes, or poles, and many other types of protection. While each usually has exclusions, the exclusions are common sense such as purposeful injury to property and negligence caused by the policy holder. Sainsbury's Bank offers you peace of mind at affordable rates and with superb customer service. Policy holder's claims are handled promptly allowing the policy holder to rebuild or replace that which is most important. With the “New For Old” feature, the policy holder who paid £125 for a brand new television in the 90s will be able to get the same quality of television today even if that television costs £300. Why? Because Sainsbury's Bank sees you as a person not just as another account or policy holder; because Sainsbury's Banks understands if you are comfortable and believe in their service, you will continue to be a client year after year.
Staff editor, Insurance Section, June 2007 |
