What is a single article limit on a home insurance policy?

If you’ve recently purchased a new item, whether that’s a diamond necklace for a loved one or an expensive piece of art for your wall, one of the most important things to do is to let your insurance company know. Why?

This is because of something called the ‘single article limit’. It can sometimes cause confusion, and that’s where Howden can help. A high value home insurance policy will have various sections. Each of these sections (except usually buildings and contents) will have a single article limit. Usually, but not always, pictures/paintings, antiques, books, rugs, gold and silver will have one limit while jewellery and watches will have another, lower, limit.

Any item over the respective single article limit must be specified, that is, specifically noted along with its value on the insurance schedule. This could be one item, or a pair or set of items such as a set of dining chairs.

The confusion arises as sometimes clients presume that when they purchase a new item, they do not need to add it to the policy if it falls under the single article limit. This is incorrect.

As an example, a £5,000 necklace would not need to be individually specified on a policy that has a £10,000 single article limit for jewellery and watches. However, it still needs to be insured. In this case, we’d increase the unspecified jewellery and watches figure by £5,000.

This is important to remember. Just because an item falls below the single article limit, it doesn’t mean that it won’t affect your insurance policy.

The better high net and mid net worth policies have higher single article limits. A high single article limit gives you more flexibility. You don’t need to produce a valuation for every small piece of jewellery or art you purchase and in the event of a claim, you are not limited to a figure (which in the case of jewellery is often higher).

Single article limits on the policies Howden provides can be up to £100,000. Check your policy and if you’re hampered by low single article limits, call us on 020 7543 2801.