Buildings insurance

In an ideal world nothing would ever happen to your home. But pipes burst, storms blow trees over, and ground subsides. If any of those things happen to you, it pays to be covered. That’s where buildings insurance comes in. You pay a premium to the insurer, and in return they’ll cover the cost of repairing unforeseeable damage to your home. It’s different to content insurance, which covers your possessions rather than the building.

Buildings insurance should cover every part of your home. That means fences, sheds, garages and conservatories will fall under your cover, as well as things like pipes and drains (with some exceptions – we’ll get to that in a moment).

Hopefully it never happens, but your insurance should also cover the full cost of rebuilding your home, from clearing the site to putting it back to together brick-by-brick.

All policies are different, but your insurer will generally cover you for damage caused by; Burst pipes, Things that fall on your home, such as trees, Ground subsidence, Vehicle collisions, Theft or vandalism, Fire or explosions, Flooding, earthquakes, and storms, These are all things that you can’t control. But what about damage that you cause by accident?

Good news: you can often get extra cover for ‘accidental damage’. You’ll just have to pay for it as an add-on. It could cost anything from a little to a lot, but if you think your children are likely to kick a ball through the window or you’re prone to DIY mishaps, it might be worth it.

Contents Insurance

What does contents cover actually cover. The best way of thinking about this is – If you we’re going to move house what would you pick up and take with you.

Normally your contents insurance will cover:, Furniture, Electronic equipment (radios, computers, TV’s Laptops), Soft furnishings (Curtains, fancy cushions or bedding) Kitchen items (including electronic and non-electronic items), Clothes, Jewellery, Items like CDs and games, Ornaments and Artwork.

Depending on your policy, you can also elect to cover your ‘contents’ whilst you are away from your home. This is known as personal possessions cover. Check with your insurance provider to see if this is included and what the rules are. It might add a tad more to your premium, but it could be very useful if you’re prone to dropping your phone like Zach.