As you only buy your home insurance once a year, you can be excused for not remembering what is actually included in the policy and what details you need to know to ensure that your house is covered. Sometimes you don’t know how much contents cover you should take out and if your garden shed is covered by the policy or not. Here, we try and clear up any misunderstandings you may have.
Buildings and contents cover
Home insurance is divided up to two parts: contents and building. As you may be aware, contents will cover your personal belongings such as clothes, gadgets, furniture and white goods. Buildings insurance will cover the bricks and mortar of the property as well as any permanent fixtures such as garages, sheds and summer houses.
If you own your property then it is highly recommended that you have both types of cover and for those who live in rented properties, the landlord will be responsible for the building.
What does your policy cover for: contents?
- Burglary/theft
- Fire damage
- Flood damage
- Earthquake/tremor
- Vandalism
What does your policy cover for: buildings?
- Fire
- Floods – Check what your policy covers if you live close to a river/waterway or coast
- Storms
- Subsidence
- Falling trees or branches
- Vandalism
- Impact from vehicles
Covered for any eventuality
A common misconception how much cover you need to take out. You need to make sure that you are covered for the REBUILD of the property, not the value of the property. Often you will be covered for a blanket amount, commonly £1m but you will probably only need it to be a fraction of that. By doing so, you will save yourself money on your premium.
For contents, it is important to know how much your property is worth, so if you have an expensive item of furniture, paintings or a large television, you need to estimate the value. The average household has around £25,000 worth of contents.
It is important to get this value correct as if you undervalue your contents you will leave you underinsured and overvaluation will leave your premium too high, costing you more than it should. If you have valuable items, we advise that you get them independently valued before taking out any contents cover. These may not be covered under the basic terms of your contents cover. You will need to check with your insurance provider and take out separate cover if necessary.
Thatched roof or listed? I could be costly
If your home is a listed property or has an unusual feature, such as a thatched roof, you may have to take out specialist cover. Premiums for unusual properties are often higher because they usually pose a greater risk to insurers. Listed buildings have higher rebuild costs, while thatched roofs present a greater fire risk.
Cover away from the home?
If you have expensive items that you often use away from the home, such as a laptop, tablets or a pushbike, then it may be worth having these items covered against theft or damage when being used somewhere other than your house. We recommend this if you have a son or daughter at university.
Don’t pay too much for your policy
Most home insurance policies come with voluntary and compulsory excess. If you decide to choose a policy with a higher excess then you will lower the cost of your cover. But you will need to consider if you are able to afford the excess should you need to make a claim. Remember to consider making a claim, especially if you don’t want it to affect your no claims discount. It may be best to foot the bill yourself, rather than making a claim, providing you are able to afford it.
Give us a call
PayingTooMuch.com offers policies from all the major insurers including Ageas, Allianz, AXA and Zurich. It only takes ten minutes to complete a quote based on your personal circumstances, either online or over the telephone, so make a quick phone call today to see how much you can save.
By visiting PayingTooMuch.com, you can find the cover which is best suited for you and your home. If you have any questions you can contact our home insurance specialists on 01243 219 300.
