Sum insured and premium for your home contents.
Annual premium
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Sum insured
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Premium before VAT
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Replacement cost, not what you paid
Home contents insurance covers the things inside your home, your furniture, electronics, clothing, appliances, and valuables, against risks like fire, theft, and water damage. The single most important decision is the sum insured, and this calculator helps you size it and the premium that follows. The golden rule is to insure for replacement cost as new, what it would cost today to buy everything again, not the second-hand value or the price you originally paid. Depreciated values leave you short exactly when you need to rebuild a household. This page is for renters and homeowners across the UAE setting up a contents policy who want a realistic premium estimate.
People consistently underestimate the total. Walk room by room and the figure climbs fast: a television, a laptop, a sofa, a wardrobe of clothes, kitchen appliances, and bedding in each room add up to far more than the gut number most people first reach for. Under-insuring also risks the average clause, where an insurer scales down a claim if you insured for less than the true replacement value, so the cost-cutting backfires at claim time.
How the rate per thousand sets your premium
Contents premiums are usually quoted as a rate per AED 1,000 of cover. The calculator takes your sum insured, divides it by 1,000, multiplies by that rate to get the premium before tax, then adds the 5 percent VAT standard rate it applies. So the two levers are the sum insured and the rate. The rate itself depends on your building, your location, security features, and claims history, which is why the tool lets you set it rather than guessing. A higher rate reflects higher assessed risk, and a lower rate reflects a well-secured, lower-risk home.
Insuring AED 150,000 of contents
Take the defaults: AED 150,000 of contents at a rate of AED 3 per 1,000 of cover. Divide AED 150,000 by 1,000 to get 150 units, multiply by AED 3 to get a premium of AED 450 before tax. Add 5 percent VAT, AED 22.50, and the annual premium rounds to AED 473.
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Sub-limits that leave gold and cash exposed
This is the edge case that bites at claim time. Contents policies almost always cap high-value categories: jewellery, gold, watches, and cash are usually limited per item and in total, often well below what a UAE household actually keeps at home. If your gold and watches are worth AED 80,000 but the policy sub-limit is AED 20,000, the rest is simply not covered unless you list those items separately, which often carries a higher rate. A practical tip: read the valuables section before the headline premium, photograph and value your high-worth pieces, and specify anything above the standard sub-limit. The standard premium in this tool assumes ordinary contents, not a safe full of unlisted gold, and remember the 5 percent VAT treatment shown is the calculator’s assumption to confirm with the FTA.
Should I insure the building too, or just the contents?
For most tenants, only contents, because the landlord insures the structure. If you own the property, you may want a separate buildings policy for the fabric of the home, fixtures, and fittings, since contents cover does not pay to rebuild walls. This calculator sizes contents alone, so add a buildings figure separately if you own.
Does the premium change if I have a deductible?
Usually yes. Accepting a higher deductible, the amount you pay yourself on each claim, generally lowers the rate per 1,000 an insurer offers, because you are carrying more of the small-claim risk. This tool works from the rate you enter, so if you raise your deductible, use the lower rate your insurer quotes to see the reduced premium.