The two types of cover.
- Buildings insurance
Covers the structure of your home — walls, roof, fitted kitchens, bathrooms, permanent fixtures. If the house burns down or floods, this pays to rebuild it. Your mortgage lender will require it as a condition of lending.
- Contents insurance
Covers your belongings — furniture, clothes, electronics, appliances. Technically optional, but most homes contain £20,000–30,000 worth of things that would be difficult to replace all at once.
The underinsurance trap
Most people vastly underestimate what they own. Walk room to room and add it up: sofa £1,500, TV £500, two laptops £1,200, kitchen gadgets £800, clothes £2,000, jewellery £1,000. The total gets large very quickly.
If you insure for £15,000 but actually own £30,000 worth of belongings, insurers apply "average" — they only pay half of any claim, regardless of what was stolen or damaged. We help you get the sum insured right from the start.
What affects your premium.
- Security
Proper locks, alarms, smoke detectors. Better security means lower premiums — and some insurers require certain standards to insure you at all.
- Location
Same house, different postcode, sometimes wildly different premium. Can't change it, but it's worth understanding how it factors in.
- Property type and age
Modern standard construction is cheapest. Listed buildings, period properties, or non-standard construction (timber frame, thatched roof) cost significantly more — and some insurers won't touch them.
- Claims history
Previous claims push premiums up. Three or more claim-free years typically earns a no-claims discount worth having.
Small print that catches people out.
Flooding: Standard policies often have limited flood cover, particularly in higher-risk areas. If you're in a flood zone, check this specifically — not all policies are equal.
Accidental damage: Usually an add-on, not standard. If you want cover for a cracked screen or a knocked-over TV, make sure it's explicitly included.
Single-item limits: Most contents policies cap payouts on individual items at £1,500–2,000. Got a £5,000 watch or a valuable piece of jewellery? It needs to be listed separately.
Get a home insurance quote →As with all insurance policies, conditions and exclusions will apply.