What is buildings cover?

Cover for damages made to the building and structural components, such as pipework. What to look for: Building repairs are likely to be some of the more expensive and urgent ones that you will need to make to your home. If a pipe bursts or your front door gets smashed, you’ll need to act quickly to get it fixed. For that reason, you need to think sensibly about getting the right level of cover to ensure that hazardous damages are resolved quickly. The best Home Buildings Insurance policies will offer unlimited buildings cover, but this may be more than you require if you live in a smaller, lower-value home.

What is home contents cover?

Cover for damage or loss of the contents of your home while they are in your home, including furniture and furnishings. What to look for: The contents of your home add up in value and if there is a fire or if you are burgled, they may be difficult to replace. The best Home Contents Insurance policies offer unlimited cover, although there’s still usually a limit placed on how much you can claim per individual item. You may not need unlimited contents cover, so consider carefully before just going with an insurer simply because it offers this as this will push up the price.

What is accidental damage cover?

This covers damages to your home’s building or contents that are caused by an unexpected, non-deliberate accident. For example, throwing a ball through your window or accidentally hammering a nail into a water pipe. What to look for: Many of the best Home Insurance policies offer some level of accidental damage cover as standard, but not all will. While Accidental Damage cover isn’t essential, it can be useful in some instances. Some insurers separate the cover between the building or your contents, so you can decide which you might need accidental damage cover for more if you want to cut some costs.

What is personal possessions cover?

This cover is known by many different names, but essentially covers any damages or loss to certain personal possessions, such as laptops and phones, potentially regardless of whether they’re being stored in the home at the time. What to look for: This type of cover is usually limited to items below a certain value and is usually automatically included. The best Home Insurance policies typically offer increased cover for personal possessions and even the loss or damage of personal possessions outside the home and even while abroad, depending on the insurer.

Compare 9 Best UK Home Insurance Companies 2024

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Tom ConnerDirector

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22/04/2021

10 mins

What is the Best Home Insurance?

There are a number of different elements you should look out for when buying Home Insurance, what is important for one person might not be so important for another.

Comparing the market is very important and it is not only comparing Home Insurance premiums but also comparing the various aspects and limits of the policies.

Personal possessions, outbuildings and cover limits…

For instance, if you travel frequently, you may be more interested in a policy that covers your personal possessions and valuables, such as laptops, outside your home and even abroad.

Some policies include cover for sheds, outbuildings and gardens as standard, while for others this is only an optional extra. The same is true for accidental damage cover.

It is vitally important to find a balance between the level of cover provided and a monthly premium you can afford. Whatever you need from your buildings and contents insurance, it always pays to do the research to ensure you get the best Home insurance for you.

Compare Top UK Home Insurance Providers

The below information describes the top tier of Home Insurance policy available from a selection of leading UK Home Insurance providers.

The AA

The AA was founded in the UK in 1905. Today, the company provides general insurance (including Home Insurance and Car Insurance), breakdown cover, motoring advice and road maps.

The AA Home Insurance Plus

Maximum contents cover – Unlimited
Maximum buildings cover – Unlimited
Maximum personal possessions cover – £5,000 per item^‡†

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Aviva

Aviva can trace its origins back to 1797. The company today was formed from the merger of Norwich Union and CGU PLC in 2000 and it offers a wide range of financial products and services, including Home Insurance.

Aviva Home Insurance

Maximum contents cover – Unlimited
Maximum buildings cover – Unlimited (for properties with up to 5 bedrooms)
Maximum personal possessions cover – £2,000 per item^‡

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John Lewis

John Lewis Premier Home Insurance is the best Home Insurance John Lewis offers (other tiers include Essential and Plus, which offer lower levels of cover). John Lewis Finance is part of the John Lewis Group, most famous for its UK department stores, which are entirely owned by its staff.

John Lewis Premier Home Insurance

Maximum contents cover – Unlimited
Maximum buildings cover – Unlimited
Maximum personal possessions cover – £3,000 per item^‡

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† maximum available online | *can be upgraded for an additional fee | ‡ items exceeding this limit can be covered by valuables cover | Terms, conditions, exclusions and limitations apply

Drewberry’s Best Home Insurance Tips

Make sure you have the correct locks
Many insurers specify the security your home needs to have against the risk of burglary/theft, so ensure your security meets the minimum specified in the policy and always lock doors and windows when you’re away from home.
Consider a burglar alarm
Homes with burglar alarms are often subject to reduced Home Insurance premiums because of the lower risk from theft.
Decide whether accidental damage claims are worth it
If the damage only comes to a few hundred pounds and is little more than your excess, consider whether it’s worth making a claim and potentially seeing your premiums rise the following year as a result.
Check the small print for personal possessions / valuables definitions
Most Home Insurance companies require you to individually submit items worth over a specified limit to them to be insured individually. These won’t be covered under ‘personal possessions’ if they’re too expensive and so you could lose out if you fail to insure an item correctly.
Beware limits on alternative accommodation
Some policies impose a cash limit or a stay of a certain number of nights on their alternative accommodation. That means if your house is severely damaged, you may not be able to remain in your alternative accommodation long enough for it to be fixed. Also check whether the policy covers your pets; not all do and could require you to pay out of pocket for boarding your pets while you have work done on your home.
Check whether you need listed buildings cover
If you live in an old house, it’s your responsibility to check whether or not the building you live in is listed, which may require a specialist insurer to cover it. Many insurers don’t cover listed buildings on standard policies due to the added expense of repairs.

How Much Does the Best Buildings and Contents Insurance Cost?

No two Home Insurance policies will cost the same because there are so many deciding factors that influence how your policy is priced. For that reason, we’ve included below some of the main things that insurers and underwriters consider when pricing your premiums.

Your address
Your address can tell your insurer a lot about your home, the likelihood of claiming on your policy, and the cost of your claims. For example, if you live in an area that tends to get exceptionally cold, your insurer may increase the cost of your policy to balance the increased risk of your home’s pipes freezing in the winter.
Type of building
Different types of buildings have different types of risks that may affect your policy’s cost. If you live in an old house, you are more likely to encounter issues with pipes and pests, which may add to the cost of your Home Insurance policy. If you live in a larger, expensive house then the best Home Insurance policy for you may be one with unlimited buildings cover.
Excess
This is an option to add to your policy that means that you will agree to pay a certain amount per claim to cover the cost of any loss or damage covered by your policy. By increasing the amount of excess that you are willing to pay, you can reduce your Home Insurance premiums.
Security
Some insurers will not supply you with an insurance policy unless the security of your home meets a certain standard. Meanwhile, insurers will also price your insurance policy depending on how secure your home is. For example, if you have a burglar alarm installed in your home, you may have the cost of your insurance reduced slightly.
Contents Value
Most insurers will allow you to choose the level of contents cover you need for your home, but if the contents of your home are highly valuable you inevitably need to pay more for your cover. If you want your home’s contents insured, the best Home Insurance will include unlimited contents cover, although there will often be a limit on how much you can claim per item.
Living Situation
Having children or pets in the home may increase the cost of a policy because they have a tendency to damage things. In addition, the number of people living in the home and amount of time that you regularly spend in the home could affect the cost of cover.
Claims History
If you are renewing your Home Insurance policy, the number of claims that you have made and their severity will influence the new cost of your premiums.

You may find the cost of your Home Insurance going up over time. This is because certain factors as well as your increased risk of claiming will affect the cost of your policy, such as inflation, the insurer’s financial situation, and the increase of Insurance Premium Tax.

Common Home insurance Definitions

What is buildings cover?
Cover for damages made to the building and structural components, such as pipework.

What to look for: Building repairs are likely to be some of the more expensive and urgent ones that you will need to make to your home. If a pipe bursts or your front door gets smashed, you’ll need to act quickly to get it fixed. For that reason, you need to think sensibly about getting the right level of cover to ensure that hazardous damages are resolved quickly.

The best Home Buildings Insurance policies will offer unlimited buildings cover, but this may be more than you require if you live in a smaller, lower-value home.
What is home contents cover?
Cover for damage or loss of the contents of your home while they are in your home, including furniture and furnishings.

What to look for: The contents of your home add up in value and if there is a fire or if you are burgled, they may be difficult to replace.

The best Home Contents Insurance policies offer unlimited cover, although there’s still usually a limit placed on how much you can claim per individual item. You may not need unlimited contents cover, so consider carefully before just going with an insurer simply because it offers this as this will push up the price.
What is accidental damage cover?
This covers damages to your home’s building or contents that are caused by an unexpected, non-deliberate accident. For example, throwing a ball through your window or accidentally hammering a nail into a water pipe.

What to look for: Many of the best Home Insurance policies offer some level of accidental damage cover as standard, but not all will. While Accidental Damage cover isn’t essential, it can be useful in some instances. Some insurers separate the cover between the building or your contents, so you can decide which you might need accidental damage cover for more if you want to cut some costs.
What is personal possessions cover?
This cover is known by many different names, but essentially covers any damages or loss to certain personal possessions, such as laptops and phones, potentially regardless of whether they’re being stored in the home at the time.

What to look for: This type of cover is usually limited to items below a certain value and is usually automatically included. The best Home Insurance policies typically offer increased cover for personal possessions and even the loss or damage of personal possessions outside the home and even while abroad, depending on the insurer.

Other Home Insurance Definitions

Valuables Cover

Definition: Different from personal possessions cover, this cover protects high-value belongings, such as paintings, jewellery, and antiques.

What to look for: If you do not own any valuable items in your home, then you likely won’t need this cover. This type of cover requires you to have each valuable item valued and specified in your policy and for this reason you should look to insure only your most valuable items. This is because this cover can get more expensive the more valuables you add to your policy, especially if they are high-risk items like jewellery or watches.

The most comprehensive Home Insurance policies tend to have a higher valuables cover limit, while the best Home Insurance policies typically cover these valuables outside the home, including abroad.

Matching Sets Cover

Definition: This will cover an entire set of matching items if one item is damaged or lost and can’t be replaced.

What to look for: Only the best Home Insurance policies offer this with their standard policies. Most offer it as an optional cover that you can add to your policy. This cover isn’t always necessary if you are not overly concerned about your matching sets being completely uniform. However, if this is a concern for you, then this could work in your benefit.

Alternative Accommodation

Definition: If your home is unsafe or you need to stay elsewhere while repairs are made to it, this cover will pay for temporary accommodation.

What to look for: If you have relatives that you may be able to stay with in the event of an emergency, this cover may not be necessary. But, if you do want to add this cover to your policy, be aware that some insurers will only pay out for a certain number of nights in temporary accommodation.

The best Home Insurance will provide cover for you, your family and even your pets if you can’t live in your home due to an emergency, either until the repairs are done, for a set number of days or up to a cash limit.

Family Legal Cover

Definition: This cover will pay out to help you cover some or all legal expenses if you or your family face certain personal legal matters, such as protection of property or personal injury claims.

What to look for: Many of the top UK home insurers include this cover with your policy automatically, so you may not need to worry about adding it.

Home Emergency Cover

Definition: If you face a home emergency and need fast repairs, insurers may pay out to cover the cost of hiring a tradesperson to perform emergency repairs.

What to look for: Some of the best Home Insurance companies include an emergency service and helpline with this cover and will arrange emergency repairs for you at any time of day. This can be a great benefit if you one day wake up in the middle of the night to a burst pipe.