What is buildings insurance?
This type of insurance cover provides you with the money to cover the costs of repairing or rebuilding your home should it be damaged or destroyed.
This type of cover is essential for homeowners and will cover the actual structure of your home, but can also include sheds and garages.
Standard buildings insurance policies generally cover floods, subsidence, theft/vandalism, fire, lightning damage and water damage.
It’s important to get cover for the rebuild value of the building.
How contents insurance works:
This insurance covers the cost of the possessions in your home should they be damaged or destroyed. It’s important to work out how much the contents of your home are actually worth. You also need to keep in mind that not all possessions are covered.
Make sure that you conduct a proper valuation of your contents. It’s always a good idea to make a note of your home contents or you can also regularly take photographs of your home and its contents. Keep in mind that when you make a claim you will be covered for your items at replacement value.
Insurers define “contents” as the sort of things you would take with you if you were to move house, such as furniture, clothes, electrical items, money and jewellery.
There are two main types:
New-for-old policies, which provide the full cost of repairing damaged items or replacing destroyed items.
Wear-and-tear policies, which provide cover for the repair to damaged items but with a reduction for depreciation.
To get the best building and contents insurance:
- Fit a burglar alarm
- Install a smoke alarm
- Check for a no-claims discount
Shop around and compare online. Make sure that you compare about five quotes from various home contents insurance providers.
Combine building and contents insurance – try to find insurance providers that offer extra discounts for multiple policies. Consider the policy benefits against each price – you need to assess the benefits you’ll be getting and compare it to the premium you’ll be paying.
