Home insurance is a type of insurance that protects policy holders from the unexpected costs that can occur from accidents, theft, fire or bad weather.
In the United Kingdom, home insurance is purchased in two parts, buildings and contents. Contents insurance covers things like furniture, curtains, personal possessions, computers, clothing, television, kitchen equipment etc. An easy way to look at it is that it's all the things that are taken with a person when they move home.
Most policies offer new for old, which means that the insurance company will replace any damaged, lost or stolen items with new ones. This doesn't usually cover clothing and linen as the insurance company tends to allow for a certain amount of depreciation. Policies usually include accidental damage too for items like mirrors, TV's and ceramic tiles but this can depend on the insurance company so it's worthwhile checking first.
Additional accidental damage can also be added that provides cover in the event of damage caused by spillages or pets.
Contents insurance also covers some items outside of the home although if a certain item is over a threshold amount there is usually a small cost. The optional cover might include items like jewellery, bicycles, watches and cameras, some even include cover for mobile phones.
Buildings insurance covers the structural part of a property instead of what's inside. It covers the whole home which includes the garage, driveway, out buildings and even features like swimming pools and tennis courts if a home has them.
There are a range of companies who can provide online quotes including aviva home insurance who are not on price comparison websites so it's worth a quote, and from the motor company the aa with their aa home insurance that may provide some nice deals together with john lewis home insurance formally greenbee and churchill home insurance as well as for the over 50s saga home insurance that could see savings with this insurance company.
Building insurance policy's include the cost of repairing or rebuilding a home if it's damaged by bad weather, earthquake, floods, or fire. But the cover doesn't stop there, it also covers damage caused by leaking pipes, vandalism, falling tree's or even when damage is caused by collision with a car or an aircraft.
Again, accidental damage can be added to a building insurance policy to cover damage to pipes and cables, glass windows and things like baths, toilets and fitted kitchens.
Where contents insurance is calculated on the price of replacing goods in a home, buildings insurance is worked out using the cost of rebuilding a home. Its always worthwhile ensuring that this is correct as it can lead to the insurance company reducing a claim if the building is under insured.
There are a number of ways to reduce the price of home insurance. The easiest way is to make sure any quotes cover the cost of a rebuild and not the market value of the house as this is usually a lot more. The amount that is covered is called the ‘Sum insured' and should be the rebuilding costs if the property to totally destroyed or damaged beyond repair.
The best way to find out the rebuild value is to get a building survey. This will highlight the cost of a rebuild and can be used to take out building insurance at the correct level which may well result in lower premiums.
Another good tip is to try and avoid paying for insurance on a monthly basis. Insurance companies usually charge a fee for this in the form of a rate of interest which can be quite high.
When looking for home insurance its always best to get a few quotes and take advantage of price comparison websites, but don't ever rely on these as they don't include all providers and make some assumptions about the type of policy that a customer wants so they can work out more expensive in the long term.