Home insurance is reassurance. It protects your home and its contents against damage or theft if the unexpected happens. A home insurance policy helps cover the costs of any unavoidable harm to your home, like fire or flood damage, as well as replacing stolen valuables if you’re burgled.
Unlike car insurance, which you need to drive legally, home insurance isn’t a legal requirement for homeowners or renters. It’s a good choice though, providing peace of mind in case something goes wrong out of the blue.
If you’re taking out a mortgage, your lender will probably insist you get buildings insurance before they’ll loan you the money. If you’re a tenant, you’ll only need to cover your belongings – your landlord looks after the buildings cover.
There are two types of home insurance cover: buildings insurance and contents insurance. You can take each out separately or get both from the same company in a combined home insurance policy.
Buildings insurance covers the physical structure of your home – the bricks and mortar – and any permanent fittings or fixtures (from your doors to your kitchen sink).
Contents insurance protects the possessions in your home (like your TV, and the sofa you watch it from) against damage or theft – some policies cover your stuff while you’re out and about too.
You can take out your buildings and contents insurance with the same insurer to reduce the hassle, but you should always compare quotes to ensure you’re getting the best deal.
The average annual cost of a home insurance policy is:
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Buildings
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Contents
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Combined
A few different things can affect how much your home insurance costs, including:
Get quotes from a few different insurers – we work with over 55 companies to help you find the best deal for you
You can usually get a no-claims discount if you’ve gone several years without making a claim
Paying for your insurance all in one go works out cheaper than paying monthly, so it’s worth doing if you can afford to
Asking for a higher excess tells insurers that you’re less likely to claim, so you get a lower premium
Your home is your pride and joy – and probably the biggest investment you’ll ever make – so you need to make sure it’s protected. Home insurance gives cover for events that are out of your control, so you can rest easy:
You could run into legal issues if you own your own place, and the costs can be sky-high. This add-on covers most home-related legal costs, from conveyancing, inheritance and probate, to disputes with neighbours or tradespeople
Home insurance covers flooding and fire, but an emergency add-on includes extra protection against surprise bills. It covers callouts and parts for plumbing or heating issues – it’ll even cover you if you snap your key off in your lock
Standard contents insurance will protect your possessions inside your home, but not always when you’re out and about. ‘Away-from-home’ covers things like laptops or mobile phones for damage, theft and loss when you're on the go
Whether you’re a serious cyclist or a committed commuter, it’s reassuring to know your wheels are protected. A bike insurance add-on covers theft (as long as you’ve locked your bike up somewhere sensible) and repairs if you have an accident
Whether it’s red wine on the carpet or your little one’s marker pen masterpiece, accidents happen. Accidental damage cover protects your home from mishaps that a standard policy won’t cover – it can even help out if you make a costly DIY error or break a window
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We make it easy for you to compare your home insurance options – just make sure you’ve got the following information to hand:
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Like your date of birth and email address, plus details of any home insurance claims you’ve made in the last five years
The type of property it is, the number of rooms and when it was built, the type of roof it has, and if there are any trees nearby
How many people live in the property, when they're usually at home, and if anyone is a smoker
Whether you’ve got a burglar alarm, and which types of window and door locks you have
The cost of rebuilding your home from scratch if the worst happened and it was destroyed beyond repair
The estimated cost of replacing your contents if they were damaged, lost or stolen
We’re committed to finding the right cover for you and your home.
That’s why we compare over 55 of the biggest insurance providers in the country, including:
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Protect your home with a burglar alarm, secure door and window locks, and a safe – especially if you live in a burglary hotspot
Unoccupied homes are at a higher risk of being burgled or damaged by fire or escaped water
Insulating your pipes reduces the risk of damage when they freeze and thaw in cold weather
Fitting smoke alarms around your home isn’t just common sense in safety terms, it can also lower your insurance premiums
"Home insurance is a great way to protect your home and belongings against the things we can’t plan for. We'll help you find the right cover for your home, whether it's protection in the event of a flood or fire, insurance for an unoccupied property, or help with a burst pipe in the middle of the night - so you can rest easy and concentrate on the things that matter most."
- Kate Devine, head of home insurance
Each home is different, so standard home insurance might not be right for everyone. You might need a specialised home insurance policy if you’re looking to get cover for:
Coronavirus has meant we’ve been spending more time at home than ever, but it’s unlikely that this has had an effect on your home insurance policy. Find out more from our home insurance and coronavirus guide.
Home insurance protects your property’s structure and contentsagainst loss, theft or damage caused by flooding, fire, storms, subsidence and escaped water. This means you’ll be able to claim repair or replacement costs for most of the following, depending on your policy.
You aren’t required by law to have either buildings or contents insurance, but it’s always useful to have protection in case something unexpected happens. If you have a mortgage, your lender should insist that you take out buildings insurance for the whole mortgage term – but you can find it from other sources too, including price comparison websites such as MoneySuperMarket.
To calculate how much cover you need from your home insurance policy, you’ll need to account for:
If you’re a tenant you’ll only need to take out a renters insurance policy – this will let you cover your personal belongings. Your landlord should have their own buildings cover in place, and while they may also have a contents policy this will only apply to items they’ve supplied for the property, such as furniture.
Putting your life insurance policy in trust lets you name the people you want to receive your life insurance payout (your trustees).
There are different types of trusts available depending on your individual or family circumstances.
Putting your life insurance policy in trust also protects the payout from inheritance tax.
Listed buildings are properties of historical or architectural significance, and you’ll often need to take out a specialised listed building policy as many insurers don’t offer standard cover for these buildings.
Likewise unusual properties, such as buildings made from non-standard materials, also aren’t usually covered by standard policies – so you’ll need to take out specialised cover.
Yes, your credit score can affect the price you pay for home insurance. Insurance companies look at your credit history to know how much of a risk they’re taking with you and to come up with the appropriate rates.
When we’re at home, our personal possessions are normally protected by home contents insurance but this doesn’t usually cover them when you’re out of the house. Different policies offer different cover but often you have to pay extra to cover possessions that you take out of the home, like jewellery or gadgets, for example. A personal possessions insurance policy covers your personal belongings against loss, damage, or theft when you take them outside your home.
Calculating the rebuild cost of your home is a necessary part of getting a home insurance quote. The rebuild cost is the amount of money required to reconstruct your home from the foundations up, if for example your property was damaged or destroyed in a fire or flood. A chartered surveyor can help you calculate the cost, or alternatively you could search for a rebuild calculator online.
If you're having any major building work done on your house, you will need to let your house insurance provider know. If you don’t tell your insurer your home is undergoing renovation, you may find that your policy is invalid in the event of a claim.
Some home insurance policies will cover water leaks, while others won’t. And even policies that include cover may exclude some elements of a claim related to a leak. It's important to read the terms of your policy before you buy to ensure you know what you’re covered for.
Some home insurance policies will cover water leaks, while others won’t. And even policies that include cover may exclude some elements of a claim related to a leak. It's important to read the terms of your policy before you buy to ensure you know what you’re covered for.
Home insurance typically covers unoccupied property, for up to 60 days – and if anything happens outside this period you won’t be covered. An unoccupied home insurance policy covers you when your home is empty for longer than your standard policy will allow.
A helping hand to find the right home insurance deal for your needs
Here’s what contents insurance covers and how you can get it for less
Protect your home and make sure you’re getting the best price
How to protect your belongings when you live in rented accommodation
Get affordable cover for your home-from-home
Protect your valuable gadgets with this specialist cover
Find out how to make a claim on your home insurance
Our guide to insuring an unoccupied property
Protect your household appliances for longer with an extended warranty
Get specialist cover if your home is in a flood-risk area
How to spot subsidence in your home and protect against it
Will your property be empty in the short term? Here’s how to protect it
Protect yourself against life’s little mishaps around the home
Get specialist cover and peace of mind for your most prized possessions
Protect all your valuables in your student house, flat or halls
Limited-time home insurance cover for your property and possessions
Get specialist cover if your home is a listed building
Specialist home insurance cover for your new build home
What is a connected home?
Tips to make your garden more secure
Do you live in a burglary hotspot? How does your postcode compare to others? Our calculator has the answers
Find out how the age of your property can affect the price you pay for home insurance
Key in your postcode and we’ll show you how your household bills compare to others in your neighbourhood
Discover the areas of Britain where students are likely to make burglary claims, using our helpful map and calculator
See how much Home insurance costs in the UK based on over 6 years of data and millions of customer quotes
Can technology and connected devices turn your house into a smart home?
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But you might have other questions. Do we provide access to all the companies operating in a given market? Do we have commercial relationships or ownership ties that might make us feature one company above another?
We commit to providing you with clear and informative answers on all points such as this, so we have gathered the relevant information on this page.
We aim to show you home insurance quotes from as many insurance companies as possible, so that you can find the right policy for you.
Unfortunately, we can’t promise to show quotes from every insurance provider, because not all companies want to be included on comparison websites.
We won’t offer you advice or make a recommendation, but we will provide you with all the information you need to help you decide which is the right policy for you.
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