The Burrow

The most valued items in households

Henry Man

Sep 30, 2024

Our homes are considered a safe place to store our belongings, valuables and memories – but are they protected?

As home and contents insurance comparison experts, we surveyed more than 3,000 Australians, Americans and Canadians to find out which items in their homes were most valued – either financially or sentimentally – and whether those items have a level of insurance cover.

Here are the results.

Most valuable items overall bar graph

Combined across the three countries studied, these were the key findings:

  • Physical family photo albums were considered the most valuable for households – despite the rise in the digital storage of photos and cloud-based backups
  • Personal documents (which could include birth certificates, passports, etc.) and cars were tied second
  • Electronic items (which could include mobiles, tablets, televisions, gaming consoles, etc.) were considered the third-most valuable
  • Australians valued their car more than family photo albums, whereas this was flipped for North Americans

The tabs below reveal country-by-country results.

Most valued items for Australians bar graph

Most valued items for Americans bar graph

Most valued items for Canadians bar graph

Are valuables insured?

Combined across Australia, the United States and Canada, participants said their valued items are:

  • Insured by a home and/or contents policy (37.4%)
  • Some are insured by a home and/or contents policy (32.9%)
  • None are insured by a home and/or contents policy (24.0%)
  • Unsure (5.7%)

Interestingly, a higher portion of Americans said no valued items are insured (30.2%) compared to Canadians (21.7%) and Australians (20.1%).

The tabs below reveal country-by-country results.

Australians' portion of insured valued items pie chart

Americans' portion of insured valued items pie chart

Canadians' portion of insured valued items pie chart

What are the main concerns for valuables being damaged?

Combined, the primary concerns for their valuables being damaged inside the home include:

  • Fire – 24.6%
  • Theft/burglary – 21.3%
  • Flood/water damage – 15.7%
  • General storm damage – 11.6%
  • Accidental damage – 10.9%
  • None – 8.0%
  • Hurricane/cyclone – 7.7%

Notably, a slightly higher portion of Australians were more concerned with theft or burglary (23.9%) damaging their valued items – compared to Americans (18.2%) and Canadians (21.8%).

How to ensure your valuables are protected

Compare the Market’s Executive General Manager of General Insurance, Adrian Taylor, said it’s important to consider a home and contents insurance policy to have a level of protection in the event of the unexpected.

“It’s promising to see a significant proportion of households having a home insurance and/or contents insurance policy – but it’s not the majority,” Mr Taylor said.

“Home and contents insurance can help pay for damages and incidents that affect your home or belongings from any listed or defined events such as fire, theft or storm damage.

“Remember to accurately specify the value of your home and valuable items in your policy to ensure they are covered and not risk underinsurance.

“If you already have a home and contents insurance policy, you don’t need to wait for your renewal notice to see if you could save money. Staying loyal to your current insurer could be costing you more.

“You could compare your options now and, if you find a cheaper option that suits your needs, you could cancel your existing policy anytime and any unused premium will be refunded back to you, less any cancellation fees if applicable.”

Always read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Target Market Determination (TMD) to check for the inclusions, limits and restrictions before purchasing.

Methodology

Compare the Market commissioned PureProfile to survey a nationally representative sample of 1,005 Australians, 1,001 Americans, and 1,000 Canadians in July 2024.