At a time when the Financial Services Authority is creating ever more stringent demands upon Intermediaries the spotlight is inevitably beginning to focus on what is rather unattractively called 'Demands and Needs'. Whilst this has obvious implications for the Insurance Broker it also, for the first time, attempts to pin the client to an accurate assessment both of what they want and what they have.

The leading Private Client Insurers, Hiscox, believe that as many as 50% of their claimants show evidence of under-insurance at the moment of loss. Frequently this is accidental arising from items bequeathed and forgotten, or being wholly unaware of the true value of things; just occasionally it is wilful in a misguided attempt to pay less premium, blissfully ignoring the reality that under-insurance may lead to either non or under-payment of a claim.

The solution very simply is to have the contents valued and this can easily be done by a local firm of Fine Art Auctioneers and Valuers. The benefit of this is that the policy of insurance is accurately underpinned by a document which ascribes both descriptions and values. The Insurance Broker and Underwriter need only a summary page detailing the total amounts by category, for example clocks, pictures, ceramics and so on, and the actual body of the valuation remains with the client, thus affording no hint of compromise of security.

It is a truism that for most of us our homes are our fiscal castles. They represent our largest purchase and encompass what is dearest both financially and sentimentally, and yet whilst few would dispute such a statement, a surprising number of perfectly intelligent people pay premium year on year in the knowledge that evidencing a loss and proving value is well nigh impossible. Standing outside your house as smoke billows from the roof is not the time to wonder if your policy will pay out; it is up to you to ensure that you insure accurately!

Simon Hay works for Lycett, Browne-Swinburne and Douglass Ltd, an independent specialist firm of Private Client Insurance Brokers, who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. His telephone number is 01392 479111 or email simon.hay@lycetts.co.uk.