HOME INSURANCE
What do I need to run a home insurance quote?
Insurance for your home includes contents insurance and buildings insurance, so that your belongings and your bricks and mortar are protected against fire, flooding, storm damage and theft
When applying for home contents and buildings insurance, you will need the following information:
Details about your property:
- Your address and property type (eg semi-detached or terraced)
- Number of rooms
- When your home was built
- What percentage of the roof is flat (we’ll help you work this out)
- Number of occupants and when they tend to be home
Rebuilding cost and value of contents
- Based on your postcode, we’ll suggest a figure for the cost
Security at your property:
- What lock types are on the windows and doors at your home?
How to cut the cost of home insurance
MoneySuperMarket data found the average cost of home insurance (combined) in autumn 2016 (September to November) was £105.
Here are our top tips on how to reduce the amount you pay for cover:
- Shop around: Compare quotes from different insurers to ensure you are getting the best price. Market research company, Consumer Intelligence, found that 51% of customers could save up to £72 when comparing policies through us.
- Increase your excess: The higher the excess, the lower your premium will be. Make sure the amount you choose is affordable should you need to make a claim.
- Pay annually: Interest charges are often added when you opt for monthly payments, so paying annually could reduce the amount you pay overall.
- Build your no claims bonus: Insurers offer discounts if you have a claim-free history, in some cases up to 50% off.
For more tips, read our money-saving guide.
*51% of customers could save up to £72.34 Consumer Intelligence, May 2017.
What type of insurance should I get?
Finding the right house insurance policy for your home depends on whether you own or rent a property. If you have a mortgage, your bank or building society will require you to have buildings insurance. If the house is rented, then buildings insurance will be the responsibility of your landlord, but you will need contents cover to protect your possessions.
You can reduce the cost of home insurance by taking out a combined buildings and contents insurance policy with an insurer that offers a discount if you buy both types from them.
What is the difference between buildings and contents insurance?
Contents insurance provides protection for your valuables and covers your home contents against loss or damage. Buildings insurance however provides cover for the structural parts of your home and covers the cost of repairs or rebuilding work.
Both types of insurance usually cover damage caused by:
Theft or attempted theft
Flood or water leakage
Storm, lightning or fallen trees
Fire, explosion or vandalism
How much cover will I need?
The amount of buildings cover you need is based on how much it would cost to rebuild your property, rather than its market value. When you run a buildings insurance quote, we’ll suggest a rebuild amount using data about your address provided by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
The amount of content cover you need will be based on the total value of your contents within your home. When running a quote, you might find it helpful to work out the value of the contents of each room in turn before adding them together for your grand total. We’ll ask you about the value of expensive single items in your home such as laptops, jewellery, bicycles and items worth more than £1,000, to ensure your possessions are adequately covered.
- Gail, Derbyshire
13 Apr 2017
- Sue, Sunderland
12 Apr 2017
- Joe, Alcester
29 Mar 2017
- Ken, Whatton, Nottinghamshire
10 Mar 2017
Home insurance guides
You and your home
Homefront
We’re 100% independent: working only for our customers
Unlike some of our competitors, MoneySuperMarket is not owned by an insurance company. So we can offer great value, with savings delivered straight to you.
We combine independence, so we can negotiate the best prices, with excellent technology, to find great value products and services for you. That’s what makes us - in our customers’ opinions - the best price comparison website.
Level of service
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.
You can find out more about how we work here.
Not enough there to get your teeth into? Try looking at our news, views and in-depth home insurance guides.