You have to leave home sometimes

There are all types of idiom suggesting your home is like a castle. You can shelter from danger. Fight off enemies. Generally defend yourself and what you own. The one constant in all this is the idea that, once the danger has passed, you can throw open the doors and walk confidently out into the world. Homes are not supposed to be prisons. If that's what we make of them, doctors call this agoraphobia or some other mental disorder and lock you up in a hospital until you say you feel like going out again. So here comes the big question. When you do walk out, how much are you worth? This is not a question for people traffickers or slavers, you understand. But a practical question involving a little math. Ignoring the times when you dress down and wander round the neighborhood incognito, let's start with the wardrobe. Suppose you had to replace all the clothes you stand up in including those shoes and any pleasing leather wallet or purse, how much would it cost? Then add in all those accessories like a good watch, jewelry and any bling that's actually worth some real dollars rather than for show. Do you have anything digital or electronic like the latest iPhone or a Kindle. They can be surprisingly expensive to replace. And what do you have inside the wallets or purses - those plastic cards? How are you insured if you are robbed and ten minutes later, your accounts are hit from a nearby ATM?

Now you are all thinking this is not really relevant to you. Sure you read about street robberies but you don't really do much walking. You always park close by and are inside the building before anyone has a chance to notice you. Ah, so what happens if you are caught in a traffic accident and all your clothes and the property you are carrying with you in the vehicle are damaged or lost? Or have you seen the statistics on the risk your vehicle will be stolen? What's the value of all the "stuff" you leave in the trunk or on the back seat?

The bad news is that the standard auto insurance policy does not cover the contents of your vehicle or your clothes. The only way you will recover any of that value is through your home insurance policy. Now's the time to read through the small print. One of the more common clauses limits the value of any claim you can make for property lost outside the home. You might want to ask your insurer to increase the amount, particularly if you occasionally go out carrying or wearing something really valuable. It might be worth adding a schedule to your policy listing the more valuable items you want covered. If the insurer asks for a big increase in premium, get as many home insurance quotes as possible. There can be significant variations between insurers on their coverage of property outside the home. It's all up to you to do a little research to find the best policy to match your needs.