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.