How much contents cover do you actually need?
Almost everybody guesses low, and the penalty is worse than people expect: insure for half what your contents are worth and your insurer can settle every claim at half, including the small ones. There is only one method that works, which is to walk through the house room by room. This is that walk, with the sum done for you.
Pocket Nerd editorial · Checked 27 September 2026 · 6 min read
The most expensive saving in insurance
Shaving your sum insured to bring the premium down feels prudent. It is the one decision here that can cost you more than the whole policy.
Most people think the sum insured is a ceiling: insure for R300 000 and the worst case is you get R300 000. That is not how it works.
If your contents are worth R600 000 and you insured them for R300 000, you are insured for half of what you own. Your insurer can settle claims at half. Not just the total-loss claim, every claim.
A burglary that takes R50 000 of your things pays R25 000. The clause that does this is called the average clause, it is in almost every contents policy in the country, and it is the single most common way people discover they were not as covered as they thought.
Why everyone guesses low
It is not carelessness. Three things make the number feel much smaller than it is.
You are pricing memories, not replacements
You think of the couch as the couch you bought eight years ago for R12 000. The insurer is thinking about what a couch costs tomorrow, which is a different and larger number.
Clothes are invisible
Nobody pictures their wardrobe when they picture their possessions. Replacing every item of clothing in a household from scratch is routinely tens of thousands of rand on its own.
It accumulated quietly
No single purchase felt large. The kettle, the second television, the tools, the bicycle, the camping gear. Added together over a decade they come to far more than anyone estimates in one go.
Walk through the house
The only method that works. Room by room, at what the shop would charge you tomorrow, not what you paid.
Work through the house room by room and put in what it would cost to buy everything new today. Not what you paid, and not what you would get for it second hand. What the shop would charge you tomorrow.
Couches, tables, chairs, television, sound system, rugs, curtains, art.
Fridge, stove if not built in, microwave, kettle, small appliances, crockery, pots, the food in the freezer.
Beds, mattresses, wardrobes, linen, and all the clothes in the house. Clothes are the single most underestimated item.
Laptops, monitors, printer, router, consoles, cameras, and anything still in a box.
Garden furniture, braai, tools, lawnmower, bicycles, camping gear, pool equipment.
Watches, jewellery, musical instruments, collections. These usually need listing by name as well.
The contents sum insured on your policy schedule. Leave blank if you are not sure yet.
Start with the lounge and work through. Almost everyone finishes well above what they would have guessed.
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A guide, not advice and not a valuation. We do not suggest amounts for any room, because what a household costs to replace depends entirely on that household. Your insurer may also calculate the average clause slightly differently, so ask them to confirm how yours works. Home insurance explained.
Three things the total does not cover
Getting the sum insured right is most of the job. These are the parts it does not do.
Single item limits
Policies cap what they pay for any one item unless it is listed by name. A good laptop, a watch or an engagement ring is often worth more than the cap, so it needs specifying separately.
Anything outside the house
Contents cover usually stops at the front door. A phone taken at a shopping centre or a laptop from a car needs all risks cover, which is a separate section.
Security conditions
If the policy requires burglar bars, an alarm or linked armed response, and they were not there or not switched on, a theft claim can be declined no matter how well you set the sum insured.
Redo this once a year. The number only ever goes up, and a sum insured set when you moved in is almost always wrong by the time you claim. Home insurance explained covers the rest of the policy.
Questions people ask
- How much contents insurance do I need?
- Enough to replace everything you own at today's prices. The method that works is to walk through the house room by room and add up what it would cost to buy each thing new. Almost everyone finishes well above what they would have guessed in one go.
- What is the average clause on a contents policy?
- If you are insured for less than your contents are worth, the insurer can reduce every claim in the same proportion. Insured for half of what you own, and a R50 000 claim pays R25 000. It applies to small claims as well as total losses, which is the part that catches people out.
- Does contents insurance cover my phone outside the house?
- Usually not. Contents cover generally stops at the front door, so a phone, laptop or handbag taken away from home needs all risks cover, which is a separate section of the policy and is often left off.
- Should I insure for replacement value or what I paid?
- Replacement value, meaning what it would cost to buy new today. What you paid is irrelevant to the claim, and second-hand value is almost always well below what you would have to spend to replace the item.
Now go and check what you are paying
Knowing how the cover works is most of it. The rest is not overpaying for it. You choose which insurers get your details, and nobody else does.
Where this comes from
No published figures are used on this page, and the calculator suggests no amounts for any room. What a household costs to replace depends entirely on that household, and printing our guess would anchor you to it instead of your own contents.
How the average clause is applied varies slightly between insurers. Your policy wording is the authority, and your insurer will confirm how theirs works if you ask.