A person’s home is a sanctuary for loved ones. As a homeowner, you do whatever it takes to keep the people you love safe. But sometimes that isn’t all you focus on. A home’s valuables, like certain keepsakes, family heirlooms, and other valuables, while certainly not as important as the people you love, can also be extremely important to you.

Sometimes we do not collect these other valuable items until after we own a home and have an insurance plan in place. This leaves some people with a dilemma. How do you keep your valuables insured if they are not part of the original policy? Should you switch your coverage completely?

That is always an option. However, by cancelling the policy you have been in for years now, you will find that a more inclusive policy will be quite expensive. And going with a new insurance company to save a few dollars might leave you having to sacrifice certain areas of coverage.

If you need to keep your valuables safe, you do not need to change policies or carriers. Instead, you can add them on to an existing policy with most insurers without any worry. This is called floating.

Floating Your Valuables

Most homeowners’ policies cover the structure of your home and some of its contents—at the time of the policy’s start, of course—against damage from fire, flood, burglary, and other potential threats. But for that huge HD TV you got, a jewelry collection, family heirlooms, expensive artwork, etc, you may find that these items are not covered.

You can add these specific items to your coverage by choosing to attach a “personal articles floater” to your existing policy. Obviously, this is not going to be free of charge, but it is still rather affordable compared to heavily tweaking your policy or trading it in completely.

Overall, different insurance companies charge different rates for different items. But attached to an existing policy, most items, even expensive items, can be floated on your existing package for as little as $30 annually. An extra $30 per item can give you peace of mind and, more importantly, ample protection against theft or damage.

The best part about attaching floaters to your existing policy is that you will not have to fool around with deductibles. The cost of insuring the items is all you need to pay should your items become damaged or stolen or lost.

With homeowners’ insurance, there are many ways you can save money. Most home policies are robust and do well for the particular insurance company granting them, so the more reputable companies out there will not hold your feet to the fire for additional items, and that’s why floating your valuables is a great money-saving tip.