Very smart of you to be protecting all the stuff inside your home, but now the flurry of home content insurance choices has gotten your head spinning.

Need help deciding which home contents insurance to go with? No worries, help is here!

Here’s what you need to know:

Where’s it at?

If you own your place your home insurance policy already provides some protection for the contents in it. But it will only cover your stuff up to a certain limit.

Most homeowners insurance policies provide coverage for your personal possessions for about 50-70% of the amount of insurance you have on the actual structure of the home.

In order to figure out if this is enough, do an inventory. Put together a list of everything you have in the house and how much it would cost you to replace it. If your homeowners policy is not enough – additional home contents insurance may be for you too!

If you rent, Good news is that home contents insurance is WAY cheaper than a homeowners policy. Most renters insurance policies cost only between $15 and $30 a month (NAIC.org).

What’s it Worth?

There are two main types of home contents insurance policies you can buy:

Actual cash value: An actual cash value policy will reimburse you for any property stolen or damaged after taking into consideration the depreciation of each item.

Replacement cost: A replacement cost policy will reimburse you the full cash value of the current market price for each item.

The replacement cost policy will likely be more expensive than an actual cash value policy.

You may also want to consider adding on flood and earthquake, because these aren’t usually included in the standard policy – even homeowner policies don’t include those.

You can also purchase identity theft insurance with most renters insurance policies.

How Much is Enough?

The amount of home contents insurance coverage that you should buy depends on how much stuff you own and what it’s worth.

To figure out what coverage amount you need to purchase, you do the same as you did as a homeowner to figure out if their home insurance was enough.

Make a list of everything you’ve got and how much it’ll cost to replace it. A good idea is to grab your video camera and go room by room then sit down and do the math as you watch the footage.

While doing the inventory, make sure you note the purchase price of each item, model numbers, as well as serial numbers.

Also keep in mind what items will go down in value over time (like your computer and tv) and which won’t – this will be important when updating your policy over time. As your stuff ages, you won’t need as much coverage because it won’t be worth as much.

Who’s Covered?

Unlike homeowners policies that cover stuff for everyone living under the same OWNED roof (this doesn’t include a person renting a room in a house)– when it comes to renting, home contents insurance is a different ball of wax.

If you’re living with a roommate, each of you needs to get your own home contents insurance. A roommate's policy won't cover your assets and vice versa.

What now?

The best way to truly compare home contents insurance and save is to shop around. Get online quotes from a trusted, unbiased site that will get all your individual information and shop around for you.

Be careful who you give your information to – many quote web sites are a front to get your business to the few insurers they are contracted with. Go with a site that shops around to all the big insurers you know and trust – I know insurancerates.com does this, so check them out first.