Home Insurance – The Breakdown

By Chris Rowlands

When talking about home insurance, it is important to remember that it comes in two forms. Firstly there is buildings cover which, as the name suggests, covers the structural integrity of your property.

Secondly comes contents insurance which covers your possessions, fixtures and fittings.

The majority of home insurance policies you come across combine the two but it is possible to buy either separately. When taking out a mortgage your provider may insist you have buildings cover in place on the property before they will release funds into your bank account.

If we take a little more detailed look at each it may help you decide the level of cover you require.

Buildings cover:

Buildings cover is designed to protect the actual structure of the building in a financial sense. As you can imagine in the event of a fire or flooding the damage can be hugely expensive to put right. General wear and tear of a property is not generally included and must be paid for by the property owner. You should check through the policy to ensure your level of cover and ensure you have no nasty surprises at a later date. Your fixtures and fittings are not covered unless they are part of the structure itself.

Contents cover:

Contents cover is designed to protect your belongings, fixtures and fittings against eventualities such as; accidental or malicious damage and loss or theft.
It is important to have this type of cover, whether you live in owned or rented accommodation – you will benefit from it.

In some circumstances accidental damage is not covered as standard and you may have to add a bolt on to the policy for a small extra cost.

There is usually an individual item limit meaning you will only ever receive up to a fixed payment regardless of whether the item exceeds this. If you have expensive items such as jewellery you should ensure you take out extra cover where necessary or look for a policy that will cover these items as standard.

You may also find that your policy covers you for some portable items such as a cd or mp3 player and again you may be able to add this as a bolt on if required.

With certain house insurance policies garden cover is included which will ensure any valuables you have such as a lawn mower, expensive patio furniture and lighting are covered. This is usually subject to terms and conditions which specify what level of security is required for a claim to be accepted. For example; an expensive patio heater may not be covered if left out over night and placement in a locked shed may be required.

Usually buying the two types of cover as a bundle will be the most cost effective solution and this is how they tend to be offered. In some circumstances depending on the level of cover you require, you may find it a cheaper solution to source both separately.

About the Author

Most home insurance policies offer combined buildings and contents cover.

Some house insurance policies offer more comprehensive cover than others, for example; garden cover and portable item protection.