• Buildings insurance: at the very least, you should insure your property. It is essential to cover the cost of repairing or completely rebuilding your home if it's damaged as a result of subsidence, fire or bad weather.
• Contents insurance: covers items within the home such as clothing, carpets, furniture, electrical equipment and valuables up to a limit set by your insurer.
• Extra cover: some contents policies give you more cover than others as standard. These additional benefits may help you decide between policies with similar premiums.

• Decide how much cover you want: the higher the amount you want covered, the greater the premium, but it is important to insure yourself fully. Try to imagine the worst-case scenario - that all your belongings are destroyed. How much money will you want back?
• Decide what excess you're prepared to pay: the excess is the amount you will pay personally in the event of a claim. With an excess of £50 for example, you will have to pay the first £50 towards the total cost of the claim. You can reduce your premium by increasing the excess.
• Identify any particularly costly single items in your home: most insurance policies limit single-item claims to around £1500. Any item over this amount will have to be entered separately into the policy - often in a 'personal belongings' section -and it usually increases the overall cost of the policy. This will be particularly relevant if you have made expensive adaptions to your home. More on this below.
• Identify any of your property that is regularly taken outdoors: contents insurance doesn't just cover property inside your home. It can also protect property you regularly use outside like bicycles, money, credit cards or wheelchairs. Sometimes this extra cover comes for free, sometimes it doesn't. Check your insurer for details and always shop around.

If you have a disability, choosing home insurance is often governed by a whole list of extra priorities. If you have made adaptions to your home they will almost certainly be a deciding factor in the insurance policy you eventually choose. Stairlifts, hoists, rises and bathroom equipment are all costly. You will want them replaced quickly in the event of fire, theft or flood. You might also want to consider getting specialist cover for stairlifts and hoists that protect you in the event of mechanical breakdown.

Some general pointers:

• While single items worth over £1500 often bump up your insurance premium, stairlifts, hoists and bathroom adaptions that cost over £1500 might not have to be insured separately (that is, they might be automatically included as part of the regular contents cover). The reason for this is that they are considered very low-risk, the thinking being that if your house is burgled, the thief is not likely to steal a stairlift (it would be very difficult to do and would not be easy to sell!). This is good news, as you?re able to insure high-cost devices relatively cheaply.
• It can be difficult to decide whether adaptions are part of the buildings or the contents section of the insurance policy. The general rule is that if you would take any particular item in the house with you in the event of a move, then that item is considered contents. If you would leave the item with the house, then that is part of the building. If you are planning to take your stairlft with you when you move then, you will have to insure it as part of the contents. Check the policy of the insurer on this: different companies have different policies and choosing the right one could save you money.
• There are companies which specialise in insuring home mobility products, including stairlifts, rises and hoists. Over and above regular fire and theft cover, they offer additional breakdown cover - invaluable in the event of mechanical failure. They will also replace items on a new for old basis. The cover can be costly but if you depend upon electrical adaptions in your home, it might be essential. The advantage of dealing with a specialist company is that, because they're better aware of your needs, they should provide help faster in the event of a claim. When you take out specialist cover for a home electrical mobility product, you will have to fulfil certain demands; you will have to keep the product regularly serviced for example. If you fail to do so, you could invalidate your claim.

Wheelchairs and scooters fall in different insurance categories. A scooter is usually covered by motor insurance while wheelchairs - including electric wheelchairs - are insured under your household insurance.

If the wheelchair costs more than £1500 you will usually have to specify it under personal belongings which will increase your premium. The increase will be less if the wheelchair has an immobiliser.

• Increase your excess. The more you're prepared to pay, the less your premium.



• Shop around. Home insurance quotes vary greatly. Get the policy that is right for you, don't be afraid of asking difficult questions and when you've found the best possible contenders go for the best option.



• Install extra security measures. An approved and maintained alarm, for example, could mean a 15% discount, and fitting approved door and window locks could give you a further 10%.



• Try and pay up front. Credit schemes add interest and increase the overall bill.

Insurance, disability and the DDA

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