Home Insurance

Finding cheap home insurance quotes for house and contents insurance and other aspects of insuring buildings. 

• What is buildings insurance?
• What does buildings insurance cover?
• Can I shop around for buildings insurance?
• What does home contents insurance cover?
• What's not included in the insurance?
• Do I need high value home contents insurance?
• Can I cut my premiums without cutting my cover?
• How do I go about making a claim?
• What should I do to make my home secure?
• What can I do if my home is in a flood risk area?

What is buildings insurance?

If you have a mortgage then you are required by your mortgage lender to take out buildings insurance. You may apply online through moneyextra.com for competitively priced buildings and contents insurance and be covered straight away. We search through many of the UKs top insurance companies to find you a selection of the cheapest building insurance home insurance or home and contents insurance available.

Click here to compare home or building insurance

Whether you are looking to buy house insurance buildings insurance or maybe both, you will firstly need to give us some information. Just fill in the online enquiry form in as much detail as possible. If you want household insurance you will need to know the value of the contents of your house before we can give you a home contents insurance quote. Or for buildings insurance you will need to know the rebuild cost of your property. Be as accurate as you can with your information to make sure you get the cover that best suits your needs.

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What does buildings insurance cover?

 It is common sense to take out building insurance when you purchase a property. Buildings insurance is designed to cover damage to the structure of your home as well as damage to permanent fixtures and fittings. 

In any event if you're taking out a mortgage your lender will insist on it as a condition of offering you the mortgage. You will need to know the rebuilding cost of your property so that you may insure for the correct amount. Lenders will usually use the rebuilding cost shown in the valuation report to assess how much buildings insurance is needed and require that any policy taken out covers at least this amount.

The sum insured under a buildings policy must be the full rebuilding cost of the home. Do remember that neither the market value of your home nor the Council Tax band valuation actually has a direct relationship to the rebuilding cost.

You may instruct a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors RICS to prepare a professional Rebuilding Cost Assessment for insurance purposes.

Alternatively you could work out the cost yourself. The RICS has a detailed Guide to House Rebuilding Costs published annually by its Building Cost Information Service. It contains four regional groupings covering the 12 standard regions in the UK five house types three sizes and three quality specifications. However it is quite pricey at £87.50. 

You may make your own estimate by finding out the external floor area of your home - both upstairs and downstairs and then multiplying this number by the estimated building cost per square foot or square metre. 

You may in the first instance want to take a look at the Association of British Insurers less detailed free access Buildings Insurance Calculator.

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Can I shop around for buildings insurance?

Yes! In fact you should always shop around to find cheap home insurance rather than simply take a policy that is being offered to you by your mortgage lender. In many cases buildings and content insurance offered by your lender is unlikely to be the best value especially if it is being offered as a condition of an otherwise seemingly cheap mortgage deal.

Your mortgage lender is within its rights to require that you take out a buildings insurance policy after all the policy is protecting its investment - the mortgage but you do not need to take the policy they offer you. However you should be aware that your lender may charge an administration fee to cover the cost of them checking your policy to make sure it provides sufficient cover.

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What does home contents insurance cover?

In 2005/06 the total number of domestic burglaries in England and Wales was around 733000. Source www.crimestatistics.org.uk Home contents insurance covers all your belongings from clothing to kitchen equipment to works of art, furniture and electrical equipment. It also covers curtains carpets and items in your garden. Most contents policies also cover the contents of your freezer.

You may choose between two types of policy new-for-old or indemnity cover. New-for-old home contents insurance means that any successful claim on your insurance will pay for the cost of a brand new replacement. You won't necessarily be given the money to buy what you want. Many insurers replace items directly partly as an anti-fraud measure but also because they get discounts on bulk purchases. 

Indemnity cover would pay you the current value of your items often a fraction of the replacement cost. Such policies are often cheaper but potentially risky in the event of a major burglary or serious damage such as a fire as the cost of replacing any items lost would be more than you may receive under a claim.

The sum you insure for will be based on one of two approaches bedroom-rated or sum insured. A bedroom-rated policy links your premiums to the number of bedrooms in your house. 

A sum-insured policy requires that you calculate the value of your contents yourself. The advantage is that you set down exactly how much all your possessions are worth and the cost of replacing them. However be aware that you risk under-insuring your home any claims may then be scaled down by the proportion by which you are unprotected.

Accidental damage cover is also available to protect you against things like paint spillage and damage caused by pets although this cover usually costs extra.

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What's not included in the insurance?

All insurance policies have standard clauses that exclude damage or loss to your property caused by war terrorism or invasion. It is reasonably safe to assume that you may not be confronted by such events but there are other exclusions that you may want to watch out for. 

Most standard home insurance policies will provide cover against any unforeseen events such as fire and theft. However you must read your policy documents carefully so that you know exactly what exclusions apply to your property.

 Common exclusions for buildings insurance include 

• Damage as a result of general wear and tear on your property or contents
• Failure to inform your insurer of any changes that may affect your policy
• Leaving the property empty for a long period many insurers will stipulate the number of days
• If your home is in an area which suffers from severe flooding or subsistence
• Any damage or loss that occurs before cover commences
• Deliberate acts caused by you your family or any other person lawfully in your home

Common exclusions for home contents insurance include

• Damage caused to your possessions because your house has not been kept in a good state of repair
• Costs of routine wear and tear
• Smoke damage
• Damage caused by pets
• Belongings outside the home such as laptop computers cameras or jewellery although these may be covered by taking out an all-risks policy

Most house contents policies also put limits on the amount that may be claimed for specified high-value items such as electrical goods jewellery and works of art. There is often a single-item limit of £1000 or so and an overall limit of £10000 for all your valuables. If you have items of greater value check to see if you are covered.

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Do I need high value home contents insurance?

High value home contents insurance policies offer a number of extra benefits that you won't get with a standard policy. You may also find that if you own any fine art or antiques that you may prefer the level of cover that a high value policy affords. It goes without saying that a high value policy is also going to cost you more. 

However you will get extra benefits including no restrictions on cover outside your home. Fine art and antiques will be covered as part of the overall sum assured unlike a standard policy where individual items worth more than £1000 each must be separately valued. A high value policy will also operate on a new-for-old basis. This means any item damaged beyond repair will be replaced as new. Standard policies often make deductions for wear and tear on items such as clothing and bicycles.

 You may also find that you require a high value policy simply because of the overall value of your home contents. Whatever you do you should not deliberately under-insure. Doing so is merely a guarantee of more misery if you ever need to claim.

Can I cut my premiums without cutting my cover?

Set about the search for cheaper premiums by seeking out several insurance quotes and compare what each policy includes. Look at your home through the eyes of a burglar and take some crime prevention measures. Your insurer will be able to provide you with a list of measures you can take to make your property more secure. The local police will invariably have a crime prevention unit willing to offer advice. You can also join or set up a neighbourhood watch scheme in the local area.

If you're looking to cut your premiums still further you may want to consider accepting a higher excess. It is usual to be required to pay the first £50 or so of every claim yourself. This is a compulsory excess. Choosing a higher excess say as much as £250 means that you can expect to pay a larger amount yourself in the event of a claim. However doing so could make a notable difference to the premium you pay. In any event don't be tempted to cut your premiums by under-insuring. In the event of a claim the insurer is likely to scale down what its prepared to offer you by way of a pay out.

Not claiming on your insurance will also help keep the cost down. No-claims discounts standard in motor insurance are becoming increasingly common with household policies as well. You can also ask your insurer about any loyalty discount they may offer for staying with them. However dont forget shopping around may still be cheaper!

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How do I go about making a claim?

If you need to make a claim on your buildings or contents insurance you must notify your insurance company as soon as possible. If you are making a claim as a result of a burglary you will need to tell your insurance company the incident number assigned to your case by the police. 

On any major claim usually around the £1000 level your insurance company will send a loss adjuster to investigate whether you are complying with the terms of your policy. You may want to employ a loss assessor to represent your interests.

You must make sure that you do not give your insurance company any information that is inaccurate or untrue and you should make sure that you understand the small print of your policy to ensure that you are actually covered for the risks that you think you are covered for. 

If you do not provide accurate information you may be prosecuted for fraud if you deliberately falsified your claim. 

Remedial repair work to the fabric of your home as a result of lack of maintenance is unlikely to be covered. If you let your home go to rack and ruin your insurer won't foot the bill for any work that is the result of your negligence.

Be sure you understand the exclusions contained in your insurance and bear in mind that for smaller sums it may not be worthwhile making a claim because it may not be much higher than the excess on your policy and doing so could cost you any no-claims discount that you have been benefiting from.

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What should I do to make my home secure?

Being burgled can be a highly distressing experience even if nothing is taken. The feeling that someone has been in your home may live with you for a long time. Insurance cover may help sort out any financial losses you experience but it cannot compensate for the emotional distress.

That consideration is reason enough to take some crime prevention measures that should also have the effect of reducing your household contents insurance premiums. Ask your insurer for a detailed list of the discounts that they may offer for taking precautionary measures and in the meantime review the following list and consider whether you meet all these criteria 

• Make sure you have adequate locks on outside doors
• Put key operated locks on windows
• Don't make it obvious when you're out or away on holiday
• Mark your property with your postcode and make a list of your valuables noting the serial numbers of electronic appliances
• Have an alarm fitted by an approved supplier
• Join a neighbourhood watch scheme  

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What can I do if my home is in a flood risk area?

It seems that certain areas of the United Kingdom are facing the threat of flood damage on a much more regular basis than was expected when homes were originally built in those places. A combination of factors such as building in low-lying floodplains together some say with climate change may be responsible. Whatever is the cause the problem can be a substantial one for those living in houses at risk of flooding. Around 5 million people in some 2 million properties live in flood risk areas in England and Wales. Source Environment Agency website. What can you do? Well you can start by running through the following check-list 

• Keep up to date with the flood situation in your area through local media and the Environment Agencys floodline 0845 988 1188
• Put sandbags in place if floods are imminent
• Keep important documents including your insurance policies together in a waterproof bag preferably upstairs to minimise risk of damage
• If a flood is imminent ensure your gas and electricity are switched off at the mains
• When the flood has subsided before switching on the gas and electricity get qualified contractors to assess damage
• Ensure that drains and gratings are clear of leaves and debris
• If your home is damaged by flooding contact your insurance company quickly as many offer a 24 hour emergency helpline which can arrange for emergencytemporary repairs
• Avoid lifting your carpets if soaked right through as they will shrink

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2009-02-17 00:00:00 © Moneyextra.com