General Insurance

What is Building & Contents insurance?

While buildings insurance protects the structure, contents insurance focuses on the stuff inside. This could include your furniture, electronics, clothing, and other valuables. Contents insurance means that if you need to replace or repair something because of damage or theft, you have financial coverage.

What are the most common types of general insurance?

What does buildings insurance cover?

Buildings insurance typically covers the cost of repairing or rebuilding your home in case of damage. This will include the structure itself, and typically any built-in appliances, plumbing, and wiring. You also get policies that cover extra structures on your property, such as garages.

What does contents insurance cover?

Contents insurance covers a wide range of items, from furniture and appliances to personal belongings like clothing and jewellery. Policies can vary, so it’s important to check what is specifically covered. Some policies may provide additional cover for items taken outside of the home, such as laptops or jewellery. Others may not provide cover for this and you’ll need to explore other options.

How much buildings insurance do I need?

You can work out how much insurance you need in different ways. The first is to make sure it covers the cost of rebuilding your house from scratch at today’s prices plus professional fees. This is not the same as your home’s market value.

How much contents insurance do I need?

It’s important you have enough coverage to protect what you own. As with buildings insurance, your policy could be based on the number of rooms you have.

To estimate what it would cost to replace your possessions with new, like-for-like items, organise an inventory and work out the total amount.

Make a note of your most valuable or ‘high risk’ things, such as jewellery, as many policies limit the pay-out for a single item to between £1,500 and £2,000. List these separately and consider extra cover.

Making sure you have the right cover

When shopping around for home insurance, you should make sure that your policy has everything you need and is within your budget.

The following home insurance options may be offered as standard or an add-on so choose wisely – they could save your day:

Comprehensive accidental damage cover for contents and buildings
Personal possessions (all risks) cover away from home
Home emergency cover
Cost of alternative accommodation
Legal services
Away from home cover for students at college
Trace and access for water or oil leaks

It’s also worth checking you don’t already have cover elsewhere, such as with your bank account. You don’t want to pay twice for the same cover!

Another factor to consider is the excess charge. This figure represents how much you pay towards any claim and generally, the higher your voluntary excess, the lower your premium.