As with many home purchases, one thing to consider when you buy a new area rug is whether you need extra protection from accidental damage. We all have accidents, and that can include spillages and other mishaps that cause a stain on the carpet. Often, a difficult stain may require your hiring a professional carpet and rug cleaner, sometimes at great expense.

Is it best to take the risk and deal with the stain problem out of your own pocket when it arises? Or, should you take out some form of insurance protection for your new area rug at the time of purchase?

That will really depend on your own view of risk, how accident prone your family may be, how cautious you are, and financial factors. It may even be influenced by the mood you are in the time of purchase. I know from my own experience that if buying a new electrical appliance when feeling flush with funds and in a good mood, I have splashed out on an extended warranty. At other times, I have not.

Rugs and carpets are not like electrical appliances; they do not go wrong as such. With carpets and rugs, it is us that go wrong, or one of our children or guests. Spilled red wine, flying tomato ketchup, mysterious marker pen marks for which your cherub of a toddler denies all responsibility, and all manner of stains may arise. Most we can deal with easily, but sometimes, we just cannot remove the stain and need professional help

For a major mishap, such as flood or fire, you are probably covered by house contents insurance, if you have such cover. I used to live in a house in East Sussex in England that flooded 4 times. Each time the fitted wall-to-wall carpet downstairs was replaced under the contents insurance policy, once sadly just a few days after the new one had been laid after the previous flood. On each occasion the professional cleaning service was unable to salvage the carpet; the stains were gone, but it could not be refitted as a wall-to-wall carpet. Rugs, though, do not present such a problem with shrinkage; if cleaned they can still be used.

What the contents insurance cover may not include, though, is minor stains on your rugs, caused by spillages, ink marks and so on. These are far more common, so you need to decide if the risk is worth it, or you want to be cautious and spend money on a rug protection plan. Such plans tend to be quite cheap, so they may be worth using for ease of mind and a fuller pocket later. If you buy an area rug with trepidation, because you have a lot of children and their friends, and hold lots of parties yourself, then maybe that will be the deciding factor. Your instincts might tell you, take the insurance cover. If you lead a quiet life, with children fully fledged and no parties, then perhaps you can live at ease with no rug protection cover.

About the author :

This rug insurance article was written by Roy Thomsitt, owner of the Gardens and decor web site, where you can find more information on home decor, including, amongst others, Flokati area rugs and several types of Shag rugs.

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