What insurance do I need for my home?

Buildings insurance covers the cost of rebuilding your home if it’s damaged or destroyed. It’s usually compulsory if you’re planning to buy your home with a mortgage and you may not be able to get one unless you take out buildings insurance. It will be a condition of the mortgage and must be at least enough to cover the outstanding mortgage. Your lender should give you a choice of insurer or allow you to choose one yourself. If you buy a house you should take out buildings insurance when you exchange contracts. If you own your home outright or are currently paying off a mortgage, you’ll be responsible for both the physical structure of your home and any belongings you have on the property. When taking out cover you should compare: what each policy covers and what are the exclusions, the premium you have to pay, the amount of any excess that you will have to pay yourself, no claims bonus policy and policy if leaving your home unoccupied. There are three main home insurance policies, buildings insurance, contents insurance and combined buildings and contents cover.  

1)  What is buildings insurance?

The building insurance protects the structure of your home and permanent fixtures and fittings, such as doors and sanitary equipment (baths, basins, toilets and showers). It can differ from policy to policy but home insurance will usually cover: Damage from storms, flooding, fire damage, earthquakes & lightning, garages, sheds and fences, explosions, theft, riots, vandalism, frozen and burst pipes, fallen trees, lamp posts, aerials or satellite dishes, subsidence and vehicle or aircraft collisions. It’s important to make sure you insure yourself for the amount it would cost to completely rebuild your home which is called the sum insured. An important thing to note is that with many insurers, the cover is invalid if your house is unoccupied for more than 30 consecutive days during the year which can be found in the unoccupied clause of the provider. 

What is the cost? 

How much your home insurance costs depends on few different things including, The size, type of the property and the number of people who live there, location of the property, the security you have including door and window locks and burglar alarms, cost to totally rebuild your home and any extra features you add to your policy.

2)  What is contents insurance?

It’s a good idea to take out home contents insurance to cover your possessions against fire, theft and other risks such as accidental damage. It protects the possessions in your home against damage or theft. Home contents insurance policies will cover pretty much everything of your own possessions and those of close family members living with you. Most contents insurance policies have limits on how much you can claim for each item which is commonly listed under a contents policy and most commonly items included in your policy are, your gadgets, electrical items, money and financial documents, furniture, clothing, white goods and you can also mention your most valuable items separately, things like bikes, computers, jewellery, art collections and designer bags. Before buying a policy it’s a good idea to make list of all your new and old items specially every valuable items separately, It’s important to work this out accurately because if you underestimate value of your contents and something happens, you won’t be able to claim for everything. You don’t have to take out home contents insurance, however it’s a good idea to do so because if you don’t have it and if any of your contents are lost, stolen or damaged you will have to pay to replace them.

3)  What is combined home insurance?

If you need both buildings and contents insurance, buying combined insurance can be cheaper and limit any disputes among insurers. You can take out your buildings and contents insurance with the same insurer to reduce the hassle and buying a combined policy is often cheaper than two separate ones.

We have access to a range of competitive providers and we can also help you with Landlords Buildings Insurance, Landlords Buildings & Contents Insurance and Tenants Contents Insurance.

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