Is home insurance mandatory?
Key takeaways
While not legally required, home insurance offers financial protection against events such as fire, flood, or theft, and covers loss or damage to your home’s structure and contents
Most mortgage lenders require building insurance before exchanging contracts
Although optional, contents insurance is recommended to protect your personal belongings
If you own a leasehold flat, buildings insurance will normally cover the whole block, but you’ll need your own contents cover
When do I need home insurance?
Home insurance isn't a legal requirement, but insurance covers you financially in the event that a fire, flood, burst pipes or theft causes damage to your property or belongings. Other insured events include vandalism, subsidence and any event that means your property will need to be totally rebuilt.
📣 Did you know? Insurers paid out a record £585 million for weather-related damage to people’s homes and possessions in 2024, according to data from the Association of British Insurers (ABI).
Without a home insurance policy, you would have to foot the bill for any loss or damage to the structure and contents of your home yourself. This is likely to be significantly more expensive than the cost of a home insurance policy.
What type of home insurance do I need?
Homeowners usually need both buildings and contents insurance - you can buy this as a combined policy if you own a house.
The other option is to buy separate buildings and contents policies. Sometimes this works out cheaper.
If you’re a tenant or leaseholder, you might just need contents insurance (more on this below).
The two main types of home insurance are:
Buildings insurance
Buildings insurance covers the structure of your property, including the walls, roof, floors, and any permanent fixtures such as kitchens and bathroom suites.
Contents insurance
Contents insurance includes everything in your home that you can take with you if you were to move house, such as your furniture, TV, appliances, and gadgets. High-value items might need to be listed or insured separately.
Both types of cover come with various add-ons , such as accidental damage protection, home emergency and legal expenses.
Do I need home insurance if I take out a mortgage?
Most mortgage lenders insist you have buildings insurance before you exchange contracts, as once you have exchanged you are legally responsible for the building.
You’ll need to know the rebuild cost of your home to buy cover - this is different from the market value.
Contents insurance is optional and isn't necessary when taking out a mortgage. However, without this, you would have to foot the cost of repairing or replacing your belongings if they were lost, damaged, or stolen.
Do I need home insurance if I’ve paid off my mortgage?
There’s no legal obligation to have home insurance once you have paid off your mortgage - but it is a good idea as it will give you peace of mind that your home is protected.
Buildings insurance is relatively cheap compared to paying to repair damage to your home after a flood, storm, or other extreme event. Some policies offer alternative accommodation if your home becomes uninhabitable due to an insured event.
Do I need home insurance if I own a flat?
You may need home insurance or flat insurance if you own your flat. It depends on whether you're the freeholder or a leaseholder:
If you're a freeholder
If you own the freehold for your flat, then you're responsible for purchasing buildings insurance to protect the structure and exterior of your flat.
If you own a share of freehold, then buildings insurance for the whole block is normally purchased collectively with the other flat owners.
If you're a leaseholder
If you're a leasehold flat owner, where you own the property for an agreed length of time, then taking out buildings insurance will be the responsibility of the freeholder.
The freeholder or their managing agent will usually buy buildings insurance for the whole block and then split the cost between leaseholders. This is normally paid as part of the annual service charge. Check your lease for details.
Contents insurance is optional if you own a flat, regardless of whether you're a freeholder or a leaseholder.
Do I need home insurance if I rent?
If you rent your house or flat, you don’t need to purchase buildings insurance as this will be the landlord's responsibility.
However, it’s a good idea to purchase contents insurance to protect your possessions.
Do I need buildings insurance if I’m a landlord?
There is no legal obligation for landlords to take out a buildings insurance policy.
However, if you have a buy-to-let mortgage on your rental property, your mortgage lender will usually require buildings insurance to be in place.
Landlords need to buy landlord insurance, as you won’t be covered by standard home insurance if the property is let out. You’ll also need specialised insurance if you let out a holiday home.
Tenants in a rental property should buy their own contents insurance policy - personal belongings won’t be covered by any policy bought by the landlord.
How can I get a home insurance quote?
You can get a quote in minutes from multiple providers when using MoneySuperMarket. This will help you find the best deal to suit your individual home insurance needs.
Plus, you can store your details and refresh your quote in seconds, making it easier to return and purchase your policy without having to start from scratch.
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Collette Shackleton
Content Writer
Collette Shackleton is a highly skilled Content Writer who has over nine years’ experience creating helpful and engaging personal finance content for consumers. Collette shares her experience as a...
Reviewer
Emma Lunn
Personal finance expert
Emma has written about personal finance for almost 20 years, with a career spanning several recessions and their inevitable consequences. Emma’s main focus is helping people learn to manage their...
