What House Insurance Do I Need?
Although there’s no legal requirement to have house insurance, it’s still a good idea to have some. If you experience a flood, theft or a fire, your insurance will help to cover your costs and alleviate the financial burden at a challenging time.
There are two kinds of home insurance – buildings insurance which covers your home’s structure and fixtures, and contents insurance that covers personal belongings in the property. Both policies can be purchased together or separately. If you have a mortgage, your lender will probably insist you take out buildings insurance cover on the property.
How do you determine the correct type of house insurance for you? Read on to find out some considerations to keep in mind.
Type of Property
Your home influences the type of policy to get. If your property is made of standard construction, the majority of policies will cover you. However, if your property is a little different, a different type of cover may be required. If you live in a thatched house, a house with a flat roof or a listed building, you may need a specific type of cover.
If you’re a tenant rather than a homeowner, you shouldn’t require any buildings insurance since this is the landlord’s responsibility. You should take out a contents insurance policy, though, so your belongings are protected. Students living in university halls of residence or with friends may require a specific type of contents cover.
If your property is very large or expensive, you may require specialist buildings insurance cover as well as a higher level of content cover. Also, if the property you want to cover is a holiday home, you’ll need a specialist policy since most insurers don’t insure any property that is left empty for over 30 days consecutively. This is also the case if you are insuring an unoccupied property.
If you’ve ever made a subsidence damage claim on the property, most insurers won’t cover you. A few insurers will cover properties with subsidence; however, the costs will be higher, as will the excess to pay if you need to claim.
The Amount of Cover You Need
When applying for a home insurance policy, you’ll need to determine:
- Rebuilding costs
- Your contents’ value
You’ll also need to consider whether you’ll need any optional extras added onto the policy. such as:
- Accidental damage cover
- Home emergency cover
- Personal possessions cover for items outside your home, such as your smartphone
- Legal expenses cover
Although these extras will cost you more, they may be well worth investing in depending on your circumstances.
Choosing the Right Home Insurance for You
In order to select the correct policy for your needs, you must:
- Decide whether you require contents, buildings or a combined insurance policy
- Decide whether you require a special policy
- Determine the precise level of coverage you require to protect your contents and buildings fully
- Decide whether you need to add any extras to the policy
- Check how much policy excess you can afford
Once you’ve decided on the right kind of policy for you and the correct level of cover, you should compare products and make a final decision.
If you need expert help for your next moving day, get quotes from our panel of conveyancers in minutes here.