What is Personal Belonging Insurance? A Guide to 'All Risks' Cover

July 2026

Many of you may be familiar with that heart-sinking feeling when you realise that your mobile phone is no longer in your pocket, you left your wallet in the taxi, or your child accidentally dropped and smashed the iPad in a cafe. 

Apart from the inconvenience and annoyance of being without your much-needed possessions, there is also the expense of replacing them - phones and tablets are costly.  

But wait, you think... won't my home contents insurance cover the loss? Well, that depends on the home insurance cover you have taken out.

Most home and contents insurance doesn't automatically protect your items once they are outside of your home. However, at Allianz, you can take out an optional cover under your home insurance policy which covers your personal effects outside your home.

All Risks cover protects your personal possessions against loss, accidental damage or theft when they are away from your home - this is why this type of cover is sometimes known as 'contents away from the home'.  

When you take out an Allianz home insurance policy, you can take out an additional ‘All Risks’ cover. This cover protects your valuables when you take them outside your home and if they are lost, damaged or stolen from your securely locked car*. It also covers your belongings for up to 60 days if you take them abroad - ideal for avid travellers. 

‘All Risks’ cover extends to sports equipment, bicycles and personal money — as specified in your insurance schedule.  

For example, if your sports bag with your gym gear, tennis racket and smartwatch is stolen from your locked vehicle*, your items are covered if you have ‘All Risks Personal Possessions Cover’. Handy, right? No need for extra insurance. 

For full details of covers, exclusions, terms, conditions and limitations, please refer to the Household Policy document.  

There are two types of ‘All Risks’ Cover that you can select. 

*All windows, including the sunroof, and doors must be securely locked and the property completely concealed within a closed compartment or locked boot.

1. Specified All Risks Cover allows you to list individual items on your policy and set their value. These items typically include jewellery, hearing aids, bicycles, cameras and other valuables. 
2. You can choose Unspecified All Risks Cover if you don't want to list your items individually. This option is ideal for things like glasses, mobile phones, handbags, etc., as you select a total amount (€2,000-€12,000) of cover for your personal effects for the year. 

Certain limits apply to Unspecified All Risks cover, including; up to €2,000 for any one item, bicycles up to €500, and personal money up to €750.

When choosing the amount of cover, consider the personal effects you usually carry. For example, when you leave your home, if you only ever take your watch worth €500, your iPad worth €1,000, and your phone worth €1,000, then consider selecting an insured sum of €3,000. This amount will cover additional items like glasses, hearing aids, clothes, and wallets/purses, including any cash.

In insurance terms, 'personal effects' are the items you frequently wear or carry outside the home. 

Examples of Personal Effects covered under Allianz Home Insurance include, but aren't limited to: 

• Clothes 
• Wallets/purses 
• Handbags (including its contents, e.g. makeup, perfume, but excluding documents) 
• Jewellery (including smartwatches like Fitbit) 
• Mobile phones 
• MP3 players (e.g. iPod, portable speakers) 
• Headphones (e.g. AirPods, Beats) 
• Laptops (including tablets, e.g. iPad, Kindle) 

Learn more about Allianz Personal Effects.

Specified risk cover is a personal choice by the customer and may be chosen for items that are of higher value that might regularly be taken outside of the home, or they have a higher potential to accidentally lose. An example could be an engagement ring, or a high-value bicycle. Unspecified all risk is a blanket cover which would have a limit for €500 for bicycles and €2,000 for other personal effects, so if there were items of higher value specified cover may be a better option here.

We've made this part super quick and easy to add when you a quote from us. For the best price, get an Allianz home insurance quote online and save 10% on a new policy.

A: No, standard home and contents insurance usually only protects your belongings while they are physically inside the boundaries of your property. To protect everyday items when you leave the house, you need to add an optional extension known as 'All Risks' Cover or Personal Possessions Cover to your home policy.

A: Unspecified All Risks cover acts as a blanket protection for lower-value everyday items you carry (like clothes, sunglasses, or wallets) up to a collective limit—typically between €2,000 and €12,000 per year, with a €2,000 single-item ceiling. Specified All Risks cover requires you to individually list and value high-ticket items (such as engagement rings, high-end laptops, or expensive bicycles) to ensure they are fully covered for their exact replacement value.

A: Yes, under an Allianz 'All Risks' policy extension, your personal items are covered against theft from a vehicle, provided specific security conditions are met. All doors and windows must be securely locked, there must be signs of forced entry, and the stolen items must have been completely concealed from view in a locked boot or closed glove compartment.

A: Yes. With Allianz 'All Risks' personal possessions cover, your insured items are automatically protected against loss, theft, and accidental damage globally for up to 60 days in any one period of insurance. This makes it an ideal safety net for holidays and short business trips abroad without needing separate standalone gadget policies. 

Check out Allianz Home Insurance Help and Support Hub for FAQs around personal belongings.

Allianz p.l.c. is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. Standard acceptance criteria and policy conditions apply. 

Information correct at 21/07/2026