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Building and Contents Insurance

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This insurance can be arranged as Building only, Contents only or as a combined policy. Cover is provided for your home and its contents in the event of unforeseen disaster, e.g. burglary, fire or flood.

Additional cover is available for:

  • Accidental damage of buildings and/or contents.
  • Contents away from home cover for specified or unspecified items.
  • Pedal cycle cover.
  • Legal expenses and home emergency.

There are also policies available that offer an unlimited amount cover for buildings and or contents.

Buildings insurance

Buildings insurance covers the cost of rebuilding your home if it’s damaged or destroyed, and commonly covers the cost of staying elsewhere while repairs are being completed.  It’s usually compulsory if you’re buying your home with a mortgage and you may not be able to get one unless you take out buildings insurance.

This insurance covers the cost of repairing damage to the structure of your property.  Garages, sheds and fences are also covered, as well as the cost of replacing items such as pipes, cables and drains.  Your insurance should cover the full cost of rebuilding your house.  This also includes the costs of demolition, site clearance, and architects’ fees.

Buildings insurance usually covers loss or damage caused by:

  • Fire, explosion, storms, floods, earthquakes.
  • Theft, attempted theft and vandalism.
  • Frozen and burst pipes.
  • Fallen trees, lampposts, aerials or satellite dishes.
  • Subsidence.
  • Vehicle or aircraft collisions.

It’s important to insure for the amount it would cost to completely rebuild your home, this is called the ‘sum insured’.  The cost of rebuilding your home is not the same as the price you paid for your home, or its current value if you were to sell it.

Rebuilding costs are generally less than the current market value, so make sure you don’t over or under insure yourself.  The best way to obtain the rebuild cost is to have your home surveyed. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (R.I.C.S.) provides a free Rebuild Value Calculator that can give you an idea of what the sum may be.

See a Which? comparison report on the different kinds of survey available to you.

Contents insurance

Contents insurance covers the financial cost of repairing or replacing your household personal possessions and furnishings, such as curtains, furniture, white goods, stereo, TV, computers and other electrical appliances, clothing, jewellery, sporting equipment and even toys.

This insurance covers household items belonging to you, and to family members who live with you.  These policies may also include items such as sporting gear and motorised wheelchairs but do not include items permanently attached to the building or insured address or portable items you might take outside your home.

You can take out extra cover to protect things like your jewellery, cameras, mobile phones and sporting equipment (but not when in use) from accidental loss or damage.

The two main types of contents insurance are replacement value and new for old.

Most policies offer consumers new-for-old cover.  This means you’re covered for the full cost of replacing lost or damaged possessions with new items, which will usually have a higher value.  You will generally pay a higher premium for new-for-old cover.

A replacement value insurance policy covers only the value of your possessions – and the value of most items depreciates each year.  This is why it is important to review your policy regularly and ensure your insurance is up to date.

Contact us for competitive buildings or contents cover
Read our Protection Insurance Guide

We do not charge our customers a fee for quotations or arranging cover for any of the insurances that we offer.

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