Whether you own or rent your home, you’ll need to insure your contents. Every occupied property should be covered by both buildings and contents insurance but cheap home insurance is hard to come by.

You’ll need contents insurance that covers everything from your Pod to your washing machine against the impact of fire, storm, flood, theft and accidental damage. You’ll find that furniture, fixtures and electrical equipment are usually covered as standard but more valuable items, such as jewellery, will need a special mention.

It’s important to get a policy that covers all of your possessions, but this needn’t break the bank. Follow these tips for a top deal on home insurance:

It’s easy to just renew your policy. But there’s no hassle in switching and it could save you money. If you haven’t switched home insurance for a while, you could find that you save considerable amounts. So shop around and compare what you can get for your money.

If you need both buildings and contents insurance (if you’re a homeowner rather than a tenant) it could be cheaper to buy both insurances from the same provider. But it’s worth comparing separate policies too to check where the savings lie.

You’ll be asked to give the value of your contents and it’s important to get this right. An accurate calculation of how much it would cost to replace your belongings, new for old, will ensure that you receive the right pay-out if you were to make a claim.

If you’ve got a particularly valuable item of jewellery or a prize gadget that you want cover for, you’ll need to mention it to the insurer to ensure you get the right level of cover.

And to help prevent having to make a claim, here are a few tips to consider:

When funds are limited, it’s easy to put maintenance projects on the back burner. But this could be a false economy. Not keeping doors, windows and locks in top condition could make your home an easy target for a thief. Also, while it may be ok to delay cosmetic redecorating jobs, essential repairs shouldn’t be ignored.  Delaying structural repairs - a leaking roof for example, could lead to more damage and a bigger repair bill in the long-run.

Overgrown trees close to your home can cause damage in storms. And ivy and other wall climbing plants can damage external walls so keeping control of your garden is a good way of avoiding home insurance claims.

Making use of your alarm is essential; your insurer will expect you to use the alarm when leaving the house unoccupied. And you’ll want to make use of good quality locks on doors and windows too. If you leave windows and doors unlocked, you could find your insurance is invalid.

Asking your neighbours to pop in to check the post and open and close the curtains is a good idea. If your house looks lived in then it won’t be as attractive to thieves. And if you intend to leave your house unattended for several weeks, you’ll need to give your insurer the heads-up as your home will be at higher risk of burglary.