Help buying home insurance

The idea of home insurance is to pay you enough money to repair or replace items if things go wrong. This could include:

• replacing stolen items after a burglary

• repairs due to storm damage

• rebuild costs following a fire or flood.

To get the money, you’ll need to make a claim to your insurer. They’ll then check and work out if you’re covered, and how much they’ll pay you.  
 
You’ll usually need to pay a bit of the claim yourself – known as an excess – which is often between £50 and £1,000. You’ll decide this amount when you take out the policy. 

The exact cover varies between insurers and policies, but most include:

• theft
  
• fire
  
• flood
  
• loss.
  

You can usually pay extra to include:

• items lost or stolen outside of the home
  
• repairs in an emergency, like a boiler breakdown or burst pipe 
  
• high-value items
  
• accidental damage. 
  

But no policy will cover you for deliberate damage or if something breaks due to normal wear and tear. 

There are two types of home insurance, which cover different areas of your home:

You can get both on one policy, buy them separately or just buy the one you need. 

If you have a mortgage, you’re normally required to have buildings insurance. But contents insurance is always optional. 

But both are a good idea, even if there’s no mortgage. Without it, you’d have to find the money yourself if something went wrong – which could be many thousands of pounds.  

If your home has a leasehold (often a flat, apartment or maisonette) you’d need to arrange contents insurance yourself, but buildings insurance might be different. There are normally two options:

• If someone else owns the freehold (this is often the case if you pay ground rent), buildings insurance is likely paid as part of your service charge. 

• If you own the freehold with others in the building, you’re jointly responsible for taking out buildings insurance. Your solicitor will be able to advise if this is the case.

With either option, you can ask the broker or insurer for a breakdown of how much they’re charging for your property. You can then compare this to a standalone quote to see if it’s good value or not. If it appears poor value, consider another insurer or ask a broker for more quotes. 

Buildings insurance is your landlord’s responsibility, but you'd need to arrange contents insurance if you want cover for your belongings. Find out more in I'm renting my home do I need insurance?

You’ll usually want cover for the structure, and it’s normally a requirement if you have a mortgage. But the tenant’s contents would be up to them to insure.  

If you provide furniture or other items, it’s sensible to have both buildings and contents insurance. One option is to take out landlord’s insurance. This usually covers the buildings and contents, plus:

• rental income

• damage or injury to your tenants.   

When getting a home insurance quote, you’re usually asked how much it would cost to:

• rebuild your home 

• replace the entire contents of your home. 

This works out the cover limit you’ll need – the maximum amount an insurer would pay out.

You can get policies with unlimited cover, but these are usually more expensive and you could pay for cover you don’t need.

To estimate how much it would cost to rebuild your home or replace your belongings, you can use free calculators. If you paid for a survey when buying your home, this might also have a rebuild figure on it.

• Rebuild calculator: 
  • Association of British Insurers (ABI)Opens in a new window

• Contents calculators: 
  • Confused.comOpens in a new window
  • GoCompareOpens in a new window

Many contents policies will have a single item limit, often around £1,500. If you want full cover for anything that’s worth more than this amount, such as jewellery, you’d usually have to list the expensive item(s) on the policy.   
 
Find out more in our guide Contents insurance – what does a good policy look like?

Insurers must charge new and existing customers the same, on a like-for-like basis. But always check if you can save by switching insurers – never just auto-renew.

Here are other tips to get cheap quotes:

• Buy buildings and contents on one policy, if you need both.
• Pay annually if you can, it normally costs more to pay monthly.
• Increase the excess – if you’re happy paying more of any claim cost yourself.
• Improve your home’s security, such as installing: 
  • BSI-approved locks on outside doors and windows 
    
  • burglar and smoke alarms 
    
• Join a neighbourhood watch scheme. 
  

It’s also worth checking what cover you already have, and if it meets your needs. For example, some packaged current accounts include basic levels of cover for home emergencies or losing your keys.

If you don't make a claim during a policy year, you’ll earn a ‘no-claims bonus’. This normally means you’ll get a discount for the next year – up to a maximum amount set by the insurer.

Insurers can charge completely different prices, so always aim to get as many quotes as possible. You can get insurance quotes from:  

• comparison sites – enter your details once to get quotes from many insurers: 
  • See our comparison site golden rules 
  • See MoneySavingExpert’s order of the cheapest comparison sitesOpens in a new window
• insurers directly – not all insurers appear on comparison sites, such as Direct Line 
  
• your Local Authority or Housing Association – they might offer a cheaper deal than you can find elsewhere 
• insurance brokers – for advice or a tailor-made policy. See When to use an insurance broker.

See the different levels of cover and what to look for in our guides to:

• buildings insurance

• contents insurance

• flood insurance 

Be careful when completing forms, an error or missed information could mean a future claim isn’t paid. You’re required to act in good faith, so make sure you:  

1. Answer questions honestly and accurately. 

2. Understand what is and isn’t covered before signing up – ask the insurer or broker if you’re not sure. 

3. Tell your insurer if anything changes – such as having building work done, a change in personal details or if you need to increase the cover limit.    

You can ask your insurer to cancel your policy at any time, but there are a few things to be aware of:  

• if you have a mortgage, your lender usually requires you to have buildings cover in place 

• you won’t earn the current year’s no-claims bonus if you cancel midway through 

• you’ll usually have to pay a cancellation charge, unless you’re at renewal.   

If you’ve paid upfront and haven’t made a claim, you’ll receive a refund for the remaining months – minus any cancellation fees.  

If you’re considering cancelling due to cost or affordability, it’s important not to cancel insurance you need – or to miss a payment. Instead, contact your insurer and tell them you’re struggling.

Insurers must support customers in financial difficulty, so they’ll explain your options and ways they can help. For example, they could set up an alternative repayment plan or adjust your cover to match your needs and lower the cost.