Everything in This Room. Is It All Covered?
Aug 26 2026 — Contents coverage, high-value homes, and what most private client households are quietly missing.
READING TIME: 7 Minutes
PEEL REGION, ON - Look at the image above.
A luxury primary suite. Art on both walls. A walk-in wardrobe visible through the doorway — suits, handbags on shelves, shoes displayed, designer pieces organized with care. A rug that anchors the room. Furniture that was chosen, not assembled.
Every single item in that room lives under one line on your insurance policy.
Contents coverage.
And for most private client households, that line was set years ago — at the low end of the range — to save a few dollars on premium.
What Contents Coverage Actually Is
When a home insurance policy is placed, contents coverage is typically set as a percentage of the dwelling value — usually somewhere between 50% and 80%. Most clients drop it toward the lower end. It feels like the sensible move at the time.
What they're not accounting for is what's actually inside the home.
Furniture. Electronics. Appliances. Clothing. Shoes. Handbags. Luggage. Art. Rugs. Collectibles. All of it lives under the contents limit — and all of it needs to be replaced at current market value if something goes wrong.
The problem isn't the structure of the policy. It's that most clients set that number once at inception and never revisit it. Meanwhile the home fills up. The wardrobe grows. A piece of art goes on the wall. The collection builds. And the gap between what the policy covers and what's actually there widens silently with every passing year.
“Contents is the most underrated line on a private client home policy. Clients spend considerable time on the dwelling limit and almost no time on what's inside. When I ask a new client to walk me through what their wardrobe alone would cost to replace at today's prices — the conversation usually shifts pretty quickly."
— Bram Bains, Maverick Insurance Brokers
What's Actually in the Room
Let's be honest about what accumulates in a private client home over time.
The Wardrobe - Chubb's risk consultants regularly encounter wardrobes that clients have never properly assessed. Tailored suits typically cost between $1,000 and $3,000 each — collections of 30 or more are common in executive households. Designer dresses from leading fashion houses range from $2,500 to $80,000. Quality outerwear adds up faster than most people expect.
Shoes - Designer pieces start at $550 and rise significantly from there. Handbags averaging $3,000 to $10,000, with collector pieces reaching far beyond that. Luggage collections that most clients have never considered as an insured asset.
A wardrobe alone in a private client household can represent $100,000 to $200,000 in replacement value — before a single piece of art, jewelry, or furniture is considered.
The Furniture and Rugs - A luxury primary suite like the one above contains a custom bed frame, side tables, a bench, a sofa, a coffee table, and a rug that was selected with the room in mind. Quality area rugs from notable makers are significant assets — handmade pieces routinely carry values that a standard contents limit would never adequately cover.
The Art on the Walls - The two pieces visible in that room are the detail that changes this conversation entirely. Art is not automatically covered under a standard home policy at its actual value. Unscheduled art may be subject to the same sub-limits that apply to other contents — and those sub-limits were not designed with original works in mind.
If a piece on your wall was acquired as an investment, inherited from a family member, or simply chosen because it means something — it deserves dedicated coverage.
The Walk-in Wardrobe - Look through the doorway. Handbags on shelves. Suits on one side. Shoes displayed. A wardrobe like this represents years of intentional building. It is also, in most cases, almost entirely undocumented.
What Private Client Carriers Do Differently
Standard retail policies cover contents on an actual cash value basis — depreciation applied at claim time. A piece of furniture purchased five years ago, a suit worn regularly, a rug that has lived in the home — all of them valued at a fraction of what it costs to replace them today.
Chubb Masterpiece and Intact Prestige operate on a replacement cost basis. If covered contents are lost, stolen, or destroyed, the policy pays what it costs to replace them at current prices. Not depreciated value. Replacement cost.
For a private client household where virtually everything was acquired with intention and quality — the difference between actual cash value and replacement cost is the difference between being made whole and falling significantly short.
A Note on Art and Jewelry — Schedule These Separately
The contents limit handles the broad picture. It was not designed to handle original artwork or a meaningful jewelry collection at their true value.
For art, jewelry, and watches — the right structure is a scheduled floater. A dedicated line item at an agreed value, covered on an all-risk basis, with the right documentation behind it.
Chubb offers standalone jewelry and art coverage for the right client. Intact Prestige Valuable Articles operates on the same philosophy — each piece scheduled at its value, covered worldwide, without the sub-limits and appraisal friction of a retail policy.
If art or jewelry is part of what's in your home, that conversation is worth having separately.
“The contents limit and the valuable articles floater are two different conversations. One covers what's broadly in the home. The other covers the specific items that have real, documented, individual value.
— Bram Bains, Maverick Insurance Brokers
The Inventory Habit That Protects You
This is not an insurance requirement. It is a best practice that exists entirely in your own best interest.
Could you recall every valuable item you own if your home was damaged or destroyed? Most people couldn't. In the event of a significant loss — a fire, a theft, a major claim — you will be asked to demonstrate what you owned. The burden of proof is on you. A claim without documentation takes longer, pays less, and causes more stress than it should.
Photograph one room at a time. Take four to six images per room from different angles — contents visible, how things are arranged, what's in closets and drawers. Don't overlook the less obvious spaces. Storage areas, the handbag shelf, the art in the guest room. These are where significant value sits quietly without documentation.
Photograph high-value items individually. For jewelry, use natural light and get as close as possible. For artwork, capture multiple angles to avoid glare — and record the artist's signature, medium, title, date, and edition number where applicable. For electronics and appliances, photograph the piece alongside its serial or model number. For rugs, capture both front and back.
Keep invoices and receipts. For designer pieces, luggage, handbags, watches, and anything acquired abroad — save the receipts. Email confirmations count. Screenshot the order. A well-documented purchase is a well-protected one.
Store your inventory outside the home. An inventory kept only inside the house is lost in the same event that makes you need it. Back it up digitally — cloud storage, an email to yourself, a copy with a family member or your broker. Multiple locations, none of them inside the property.
Review and update it regularly. The home you had two years ago is not the home you have today. New pieces, new values, new acquisitions. An inventory only protects you if it reflects what you actually own right now.
“The clients who navigate a contents claim most smoothly are the ones who already know what they own. Photos, invoices, a simple record maintained over time. I recommend every private client household treat this as an annual practice — same time every year, update the record, confirm the coverage still matches what's there."
— Bram Bains, Maverick Insurance Brokers
The Private Client Audit
If you haven't looked at your contents limit since your policy was first placed — or if the home has grown significantly since then — this is the right time to revisit it.
The audit starts with a single conversation. What you own, what it would cost to replace, whether the number on your policy reflects what's actually inside the home — and whether any of it belongs on a dedicated floater rather than a blanket contents line.
For most private client households, the number needs updating. Not because anything went wrong — but because the life grew and the policy didn't keep pace.
That's what a private client review is for.
Coverage details vary by carrier and policy. Speak with a licensed private client advisor to review your existing coverage and confirm the right structure for your household.
References:
Chubb Canada — 5 Items Not to Overlook When Valuing Your Wardrobe · How to Create a Home Inventory.
About Maverick Insurance Brokers
Maverick Insurance Brokers is an independent private client advisory based in Brampton, Ontario. Founded by Bram Bains, Maverick serves entrepreneurs, business families, and community leaders across Ontario — providing direct access to a trusted advisor across home, auto, high-value assets, and commercial insurance. Maverick is a member of the MIB Broker Distribution Network and an official partner of the Brampton Honey Badgers (CEBL).
Maverick works with Canada's leading private client carriers — including Chubb and Intact Prestige— to deliver insurance programs built around the assets, lifestyle, and risk profile of each client.
Maverick Insurance Brokers has been recognized by Insurance Business Canada and Canadian Underwriter as a voice in the private client advisory space in Ontario.
for more information visit - maverickinsurance.ca
About Chubb
Chubb's Masterpiece program is widely regarded as the global benchmark for private client insurance coverage. From high-value homes and collections to personal liability and watercraft, Chubb delivers dedicated claims specialists, agreed value settlements, and risk consultation services that go far beyond what standard market carriers offer. For more information visit chubb.com.
Book a Private Consultation with Bram Bains
If you're stepping into a new position of responsibility and haven't had a proper review of your insurance program — that conversation is worth having. No pressure. No obligation. Just a straightforward discussion with an advisor who is building alongside you.
