Buildings insurance
Buildings insurance covers the physical structure of your home – the bricks and mortar – and any permanent fittings or fixtures
Home insurance offers financial support to cover the cost of any loss or damage caused as a result of an unavoidable event such as a fire, flood, or theft.
There are two elements to home insurance: contents insurance, which covers your personal possessions; and buildings insurance, which covers the structural elements of your property.
A combined home insurance policy will include both contents and buildings insurance, but you can buy the policies separately if you only want one type of cover.
Home insurance isn’t a legal requirement for homeowners or renters. However, it provides 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 approve you for a loan.
If you’re a tenant, you’ll only need to cover your belongings – your landlord should look after the buildings cover.
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Buying a home, whether that’s a house or flat, is likely to be the biggest investment most people make in their lifetime, and it can also be costly if something goes wrong. Storm, flood and fire damage alone can land the homeowner with costly bills to repair the structure of their building, not to mention replacing furniture, electrical goods and any other high-ticket items. But if something does go wrong, that’s where home insurance kicks in – your policy will offer you financial protection to help cover the costs should the worst happen.
There are two types of home insurance cover: buildings insurance and contents insurance. You buy these separately or get both from the same company in a combined house insurance policy.
Buildings insurance covers the physical structure of your home – the bricks and mortar – and any permanent fittings or fixtures
Contents cover protects the possessions in your home. Some policies also cover certain belongings out of the home
Combined policies offers maximum protection under one policy, making complete home insurance cover cheaper
The specific level of cover depends on the particulars of your insurance policy. Many house insurance policies will offer similar types of protection, while most will also have certain exclusions.
Fire damage
Floods and storms
Burglary and vandalism
Burst pipes and escape of water
Subsidence and ground heave, also known as swelling
Wear and tear
Negligence
Lack of maintenance
Incorrectly supplied information
Unoccupied properties
Below are some of the common extras you can add to your home insurance policy to get comprehensive cover;
Includes extra protection to cover emergency callouts and services, like plumbers or electricians
Covers home-related legal expenses and costs, from conveyancing, inheritance and probate, to disputes with neighbours
Protects individual belongings like laptops, phones or jewellery when you take them outside your home
Protects your home from accidental mishaps, like broken windows, cracked tiles, or stained carpet
Many building insurance policies include alternative accommodation cover, which temporarily rehouses you and your family if your property is unsafe to live in following an event such as a fire of flood
The cost of home insurance depends on a range of factors, including your location, your property type, the value of your home and possessions, and your claims history. These factors can all influence how likely you are to make a claim on your house insurance policy and how big a claim might be. If you are considered more likely to make big claims, your insurance will cost more.
While home insurance isn’t legally required in the UK, it’s still important and helpful in protecting your home. There are policies designed for all types of occupants, including:
If you own your home, you'll be responsible for both the physical structure of your home and any belongings you have on the property
If you're a private tenant in a rental property, you'll only be responsible for home's contents – you won't normally need buildings insurance
As a landlord, you'll be legally responsible for the property's condition, but will only need to cover the building and any contents you provide
If you're living in student accommodation, you might be covered by a parent or guardian's home insurance, but this isn't always the case, so student contents insurance is also an option
If you're sharing a flat, you'll normally only need to protect your contents. Details about your living arrangements can affect premiums, as shared households come with certain risks
If you own a holiday home that is otherwise unoccupied, you will likely need to take out specialised home insurance for properties that are empty for long periods of time
Here are a few things you can do to get cheaper home insurance:
Asking for a higher excess tells insurers that you’re less likely to make small claims, so you get a lower premium. However, be careful not to increase your excess so much that it becomes unaffordable. If an event happens where you needs to claim for multiple incidents, you may need pay your excess more than once, which is something to keep in mind.
Paying for your insurance annually usually works out cheaper than paying monthly, so it’s worth doing if you can afford to.
You can usually get a no-claims discount if you’ve gone several years without making a claim. Avoiding making small or frivolous claims can help you boost your discount and save on your insurance.
Installing locks on your doors. burglar alarms, and fire alarms can sometimes reduce the cost of your home insurance. Enhancing your home security is especially important if you live in a burglary hotspot.
Over-insuring yourself is a common way that people end up over-spending on their insurance. By accurately calculating the rebuild value of your home and the value of its contents you can avoid making this mistake.
You should also take time when renewing your policy to make sure this value hasn't changed. Your home insurance cover won't change with inflation, so you will need to check that your policy still covers what it should.
Comparing quotes online is a great way to find a good deal on your home insurance. Even when it's time to renew your policy, it's worthwhile to double check whether you can get the same cover for cheaper elsewhere.
Recent data from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) shows we've seen another rise in home insurance claims from storms, heavy rain, and frozen pipes, which reached £144 million between April and June 2024. While the ABI's claims statistic may initially resonate more with homeowners, renters should also consider if they could afford to repair or replace any items within the property following one of these events without contents insurance in place.
According to our recent research, 80% of homeowners have home and contents insurance in the UK, and 45% of renters have no insurance for their possessions at all. With winter months setting in and prices continuing to rise, I would strongly suggest making home insurance a priority and recommend comparing policies now to secure a good deal.
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Whatever cover you’re looking for, the easiest way to find the best policy is by comparing quotes online. You can compare policies in one simple search on MoneySuperMarket.
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When you apply for a home insurance quote, insurers will ask you to provide your personal details and any existing policy documents, if applicable.
You will also be asked a number of questions about your house. Here are some things you will need to know:
Your home address and property type e.g. flat, terraced, or semi-detached house
Number of bedrooms
The structure of your home
Year the property was built
Whether the roof is flat or pitched
Details of any security alarms or systems
Total rebuild cost and value of the contents within your home
We'll need some details about your home, who lives there and if you're insuring your home's contents as well as the building itself.
We’ll find you the best quotes from 89iv trusted insurers, so you can see all your options in one place.
Choose the policy that best suits your needs and complete your purchase on the provider's website.
Almost a third of people still have a key to one of their previous homes, according to The Master Locksmiths Association (MLA). This means if you have not changed your locks an individual with an old key could potentially enter without any signs of forced entry, which may result in your home insurance claim being denied.
There are a few factors that will affect the price of your home insurance, including:
Location: crime rates, flood risks, number of claims in your area
Value and size of your home: most insurers will value the size of your home, as bigger properties will require a larger payout
Age of the property: older properties are more of a risk and may be built from materials that are difficult to repair and replace
Level of coverage: the more comprehensive your policy is, the more expensive your premiums are likely to be, and add-ons will likely increase your premiums
Security: having high quality door and window locks and a burglar alarm could help to improve your home security and result In cheaper premiums
You can cancel your home insurance at any time by contacting your insurer directly. If you're outside of your 14-day 'cooling-off' period, you may need to pay a fee, which is typically £30-50. Find out more about how to cancel your home insurance.
It is often cheaper to by buildings and contents insurance as a combined policy if you want to take out both kinds of cover. A combined policy also has the benefit of being easier to manage. You are required to pay only one set of premiums and have the same provider for both types of cover, meaning fewer documents and contact details to keep track of.
To make a claim on your home insurance, you will need to fill out a claims form with your insurance provider. You should do this as soon as possible once an incident occurs, but there are a few things you'll need to get started:
Evidence to support your claim:
Any damage to your property needs to be documented. If the event is related to a crime, you'll also need a crime reference number from the police.
Your policy number:
This can be found in your policy documents, so it is wise to keep them safe. These days, most policy documents are sent to you digitally or available through your provider's online portal, but it’s worthwhile save some copies just in case.
Your provider contact details:
In your policy documents you'll also find the contact details of your provider when you want to make a claim. They will typically have a helpline phone number for you to call but many insurance providers now have an online claims process you can access through their website or portal.
For a more in-depth look at making a claim, you can read our guide ‘How to make a claim on your home insurance’.
To calculate how much cover you need from your home insurance policy, you’ll need to account for:
How much it would cost to rebuild your property from the ground up
The total value of your home’s contents, and how much it would cost to replace every items
If you’re a tenant you’ll only need to take out a renters insurance policy, which will let you cover your personal belongings.
Your landlord should have their own buildings insurance, which you may be required to pay for as part of your tenancy agreement.
Yes, your credit score can affect the price you pay for home insurance, especially if you want to pay monthly rather than in a lump sum for the year. 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. If you have a low credit score, you may end up paying more for your home insurance.
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. Optional personal possessions cover protects belongings worth less than £1,000 against loss, damage, or theft when you take them out and about.
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, including labour and materials, if for example your property was damaged or destroyed in a fire or flood.
Typically, the rebuild build cost is lower than the market value or sale price of your home, as it doesn’t include the value of the land your home is built on.
A chartered surveyor can help you calculate the cost or you can use this online calculator.
Find out more about how to calculate the rebuild cost of your home.
If you're having any major building work done on your house, such as loft conversion or extension, you will need to let your house insurance provider know. Structural changes bring increased risks, with builders coming into and out of your home, building materials on site, and potentially parts of the property exposed to the elements. Your home insurance is also likely to go up if the work increases the cost of rebuilding your home. 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. You might not be covered for example if the leak is due to lack of maintenance, such as missing sealant or grout, or if you caused the leak and don’t have accidental damage cover. It's important to read the terms of your policy before you buy to ensure you know what you’re covered for.
A home with a history of subsidence is likely to be a lot more expensive to insure and you may find that insurers are hesitant to cover you at all.
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.
Home insurance is generally still available even if you live in an area with a high risk of flooding, thanks to the government-backed Flood Re reinsurance scheme. The Flood Re scheme applies to properties built before 2009, so if you're not sure when you property was built, it's worth checking.
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