Your home insurance quote

If you have searched around for some home insurance quotes, you may find that they are comprised of two different sections:

• buildings cover; and
• contents cover.

Buildings cover

Home buildings insurance is the part of the insurance that covers the bricks and mortar side of your home. So if the property is damaged or destroyed by an insured risk, your insurer should step in and pay for the bulk of the costs of the repairs and rebuilding.

When you are comparing home insurance quotes, you may wish to make sure that you are comparing them on a like for like basis. Are the risks that are covered the same? What about the estimated response times in the details of the claims procedure? Does your chosen insurer give you a dedicated claims handler within a matter of hours?

Contents cover

Your views about the contents side of the cover may depend on what you actually keep in your house. If you have a collection of valuable art of antiques, it may be wise to get them separate cover, as many insurers may have a single item limit which caps the amount they would pay out for individual things.

Before you sign up for a home insurance policy, you may wish to make a list of the items you wish to cover. It may surprise you to discover how much your contents are worth.

What about the basis on which your insurer would pay for replacement contents? Would they pay compensation on the basis of getting you “new” contents, or on the basis of replacing your things as second hand?

Other terms and conditions

Whilst you may not enjoy reading the small print, it may be worth sitting down and looking through the other details of the home insurance quotes, to make sure that you are going to be comparing them on an even footing. Issues you may wish to take into account may include what terms and conditions the insurer has. For example, some insurers may insist on their customers having a particular standard of locks installed, which may be something that you want to find out about before you make a claim, rather than after!

The cost

The cost of cover will depend on the insurer but often buying online, or buying a combined buildings and contents policy, may often attract a discount. However, it is worth knowing what sort of deals are available when you get your home insurance quote, to help you choose what is the most suitable policy for you.

Comparing home insurance deals

Have you got any home insurance in place? Most mortgage providers will insist that a term of your mortgage is to have buildings insurance in place. However, you may want to think about insuring your contents too. If you have ever considered it to be an optional extra, you may wish to think about what you might do if you house and its contents were ever destroyed. Would you be able to replace them from your own funds?

Home insurance may include buildings cover, contents insurance or both. Getting a combined policy may sometimes be more cost efficient than purchasing the two types of cover separately.

What insurers need to know

When you apply for home insurance, insurers may typically want to know:

• your name, address and telephone number;
• the address of the house cover is being sought for;
• the estimated rebuilding cost of your house (which should be on your homebuyer’s survey);
• the estimated value of the contents that you want insured;
• details of the security measures you may have in place.

Checking the quotes

Rather than just reviewing a line of prices for home insurance and picking the least expensive, you may wish to make sure that you are comparing them on a like for like basis.

So ask yourself whether the same risks are covered in the policies, and whether the level of customer service you could hope to receive is the same with each insurer.

The policies themselves

Unless you read it carefully, you may assume that the “small print” is the same for all insurers. However, this may not necessarily be the case. So you may wish to pay attention to:

• the excess. This is the lowest amount for a claim that an insurer will accept. As the insured person, you would have to pay the amount of the excess on any successful claim;
• the limitations and exclusions. This may be particularly relevant with the contents part of the policy, as some insurers may typically have limits on the minimum values on the amounts that they will pay out for individual items. Accordingly, if you have anything of very high value, you may wish to let your insurer now so that they can take special note of it and possibly charge a little extra for the cover;
• the claims procedure. Finally, how easy or difficult is it to claim on your home insurance? The time it takes to replace your contents may not be so urgent when it comes to clothes, books and shoes, but what about white goods and the time it takes to repair damage to the structure of your building? Having home insurance is only useful if the insurer is prepared to help you with a claim as soon as possible.

Increase Your Home’s Value with These Home Improvement Tips

One of the first things a new homeowner should learn is that there are many ways in to increase the value of the home, even if they just purchased it. This is especially important for the homeowner who is getting ready to sell, though, as they will want to get the best price possible. The following are some home improvement tips that will show you an immediate increase in value:

The first tip is something that most homeowners forget about. Making sure that you have adequate home insurance is crucial. Any repairs you plan on doing to your home could easily turn into devastation if a fire or flood were to happen. You need to make certain you are covered in a disaster.

Your roof is what is going to protect your home from harm. By updating the roof on your house, you are going to make sure the inside is not damaged by wind or rain. This should be at the top of your list of things to get done.

Windows are another important factor in the value of the home. If your windows are old, the chances are likely that you are losing a lot of money with heating and cooling costs. Anyone interested in buying a home is going to make the quality of the windows a huge part of their decision.

The kitchen and bathroom are both rooms in the house which causes the value of the home to go down. Functional obsolescence is something you do not want to see in an appraisal. It simply means that even though the room is functional, the fixtures and appliances should be updated.

Along with updating the kitchen and bath, you will want to consider what the outside of the home looks like. Curb appeal is something that will decide whether or not someone is going to buy your home or not. The key is to make the outside nice enough that they will want to see the inside.

The above home improvement tips are just a couple of ways that you can start to improve your home’s value. Painting the walls fresh, updating the flooring, and making sure that everything is in good repair is going to go a long way. Improving the value in your home with updates and repairs is easily going to get you more money from a sale or allow you a higher amount to borrow against the value.

Home insurance to help protect your investment

If you own you home, then you may consider home insurance to be an essential component of keeping your home safe and protecting your asset.

In fact, if you have a mortgage, some lenders may require you to take out buildings insurance cover as part of the terms and conditions of the loan.

There are two main aspects of home insurance buildings and contents cover. They are typically sold separately but if bought together, some providers may offer discounts.

Buildings insurance

The main risks to the fabric of your building are from the weather storms, wind, flooding etc and from structural damage due to occurrences like subsidence, earthquakes and fires.  

These elements are collectively known as ‘perils’.

Buildings insurance provides financial protection for the repair or even the rebuilding of your property if damaged or destroyed by these perils.

In the worst-case scenario, if you have to rebuild your property then the amount provided by your insurer will be to the value of cover that you took out.  This is not necessarily the same as:

• the amount you bought the property for;
• how desirable a property it is;
• or the amount of your mortgage.

Rather it should reflect the actual rebuild costs of the building including things like architects fees, searches and permissions etc.  So it’s important that you make every attempt to get a realistic valuation, using a professional surveyor if necessary.

Contents insurance

Protecting your building is only half the battle. 

The contents of your home are probably not only very important to you from a sentimental point of view - if you have to repair or replace damaged or stolen items then the financial impact may be considerable.

As with buildings insurance, it is important to get as accurate a figure as possible when calculating how much contents cover you may need. There may be no alternative to just noting everything down and then adding up how much it would cost to go out and buy replacements.

Empty property

The status of you home insurance may change if your property is empty for prolonged period of time (usually around 30 consecutive days), so it may make sense to remember to inform your insurer if this situation arises as you may need empty property cover.

A short guide to home insurance – Eight top tips

Are you looking for home insurance? Whether you are a new home owner or are seeking a competitive quote for your renewal, you may wish to heed the following eight top tips when looking for home cover.

1. Do not underestimate the value of your possessions. When it comes to insuring your things, do not be modest about how much your things are worth. If you write a list of all of the contents of your house that you would want to replace if they were all destroyed in a fire, you may be surprised at how much the total would come to.

2. Get the facts right for your valuation. When you are getting a quote for buildings insurance, the insurer may want to know how much your valuer has estimated that it would cost to rebuild the structure. This is not the same as the market value of your home, and you may wish to double check your mortgage valuation report to make sure that you put the right figure in the right place in the form.

3. Shopping around may result in finding a more competitive deal. Sometimes it may be tempting to stick with the first quote that you get, or simply renew with your existing provider. However, if you try a number of insurers, you may find that you can sometimes pay significantly less.

4. Read the small print. Some insurers may have maximum limits on the value of a claim they will meet for an individual item. Check the draft policy that you have been provided with on this point. An insurer may also prescribe that you keep precious objects locked away, without which they may not pay out for claims for theft.

5. Get to know the claims process before you have to make a claim rather than at the time.

6. Consider the excess on the policy. A larger excess on a home insurance cover may mean that the premium is lower, but if it is so high that you cannot afford to claim on it, you may wonder what the point of having the cover is in the first place.

7. Think about the added extras. Does a home insurance provider offer anything else in with the cover? Some providers may offer legal expenses cover or a hotline to qualified plumbers and electricians should anything go wrong at the property.

8. Finally, ask if there are any discounts available. Sometimes it may not seem very “British” to do this, but your insurer may take your postcode or record of no claims into account. Other deals may offer value that you think is too good to pass up.

The economics of building and contents insurance

Building and contents insurance may be the only thing that stands between you and financial disaster in the event that your property gets hit by bad luck.

Getting cover that’s suitable for you in all senses, rather than just the price, might be a very sensible idea.

The insurance basics

This form of cover is, as the name suggests, oriented towards your property and possessions you may have inside.

The risks covered vary by insurance provider and each individual policy offering typically should be reviewed carefully before purchase to ensure that it’s suitable for your needs.

Broadly speaking, a typical building and contents insurance policy will provide financial protection against things such as:

• natural disasters and other perils such as fire and flood;
• burglary and theft;
• accidental damage (some providers offer this as an add-on).

Of course, conditions and terms will typically apply to all these categories.

Building versus contents

It’s not always appreciated that it is possible to purchase your buildings insurance separately from contents cover.

The buildings component will typically protect the bricks and mortar side of your property plus its internal fixtures and fittings. In the case of a buildings-only policy, it might pay to be careful that you understand what constitutes a fitting or fixture as definitions may vary.

By contrast, the contents policy will deal with items that are moveable.

Why may a combined home insurance policy be more suitable than separate policies?

Pros and cons

The answer is that it’s impossible to say!

Sometimes there may be certain economies of scale when purchasing a combined policy for building and contents insurance.

At other times, perhaps a given insurance provider specialises in, say, contents protection and is offering suitable cover and at an attractive price. That may mean that it might be more advantageous to have two separate policies.

In the end, it is typically necessary to examine your requirements and look to see what offers are out there – either for combined or separate policies.

Points of note

Possibly of greater significance in the decision making process are factors such as:

• does the policy offer new-for-old replacement of contents or market value;
• what sort of excess does the policy carry;
• is there a qualification period (e.g. no claims allowed for a period of time);
• does it cover things such as subsidence, heave, slip and garden walls/contents etc?

These sorts of questions and more may be asked of either separate or combined policies. They may make a significant difference in terms of the protection you are receiving and are perhaps as important as the cost of the policy.

In summary

Your property is typically a major asset for you. Your contents allow you to live a relatively comfortable life and they may be valuable both financially and emotionally.

Having appropriate building and contents insurance may help you feel more secure in the knowledge that if the worst happens, you have a degree of financial backup behind you.

The importance of house insurance

House insurance may be all that stands between you and financial ruin in the event that you suffer a major property problem.

The cover

A typical house insurance policy provides cover for:

• the buildings – against things such as fires and storms etc;
• the contents – covering similar risks but also typically things such as theft and perhaps accidental breakages etc.

In some cases, you may be unable to obtain a mortgage unless you can show that you have full property insurance cover in place.

Special cases

You will typically need a slightly different policy (or policies) if you:

• use your property in full or part for rental purposes;
• leave your property unoccupied (this applies to both owner-occupiers and landlords insurance and unoccupied is typically considered to be more than 30 consecutive days, so empty property insurance cover will be required).

There may be significant differences in terms of breadth of cover between policies and providers.

Other considerations

Remember that the maximum insurance value for your property may need to take into account the full rebuild value after a disaster.

That may be considerably more or less than either the price you originally paid for it or your views of its market value.

It may be a good idea to obtain professional advice about the rebuild value to be used for your house insurance.

Top eight tips on getting home insurance

1. Know what your things are worth. The prices that you may be quoted for home insurance may depend on the value of your house (from a rebuilding point of view) and of your possessions. Regarding your possessions this does not have to be a precise inventory, but you may wish to make a list of items that you wish to be covered specifically and how much you estimate they may be worth.
2. Read the draft policies that you are considering taking out. Are there any limitations and exclusions? A common limitation that may catch customers out may be the limits on a single item that may prevent you from recovering the full value of the item that needs to be replaced.
3. Check whether buildings and contents are included. Some home insurance policies are for the structure only, whereas others may include some cover for your contents. In some cases, a combined buildings and contents insurance policy may attract a discount or incentive.
4. Check the risks. Are the same risks covered for a variety of insurers? You may wish to check that the most common ones are covered, which may include fire, storm and flood damage.
5. Consider the excess – can you afford it? The excess is the part of any claim that you would have to pay for. Accordingly, you may wish to consider whether you could afford to make a claim if the excess is rather high compared to the standard excess on another policy.
6. Sort out your safety and security. When was the last time that you had a good look at your property from the point of view of safety and security? You may find that it is in your best interest to fit appropriate door and window locks, and make sure that fire alarms are in working order. But these issues may also be important to insurers too.
7. Look beyond price when you are making your decision. Price is important, but you may also wish to consider the level of service that you would receive if you ever had to make a claim.
8. Finally, ask for a discount. The worst that could happen is that the insurer could say “no”! Some insurers may offer a discount on your home insurance if you have a no claims bonus on another policy.

The world of home insurance

Home insurance provides compensation for damage or destruction to your home, which are caused by unforeseen disasters. Disasters take many forms and differ from country to country and what is covered differs from insurance provider to insurance provider.

Insurance should not only cover the brick and mortar aspects of your home but also anything else that goes into the construction such as piping, electrical, doors and windows. It should also offer you cover on any damage and injury caused by members of the household ad even pets and personal liability and legal matters.

This may sound confusing to you, but it isn’t really. Understanding what type of home insurance suits you best is quite easy to do. A simple telephone call to an insurance specialist should clarify and explain your options.

What are your options when you are looking for home insurance? The most important home insurance is one that covers your property in the event of damage; it also covers rebuilding costs if it is destroyed.

Apart from covering a building home insurance also covers contents. Generally you are responsible for ascertaining the value of your contents. It is not advisable to under insure so while putting together an inventory may be a lengthy process, it is well worth the effort. Remember to list absolutely everything including dates of purchase and receipts where possible.

There are also a number of add on variable insurance options available such as covering the contents of your freezer or your sports equipment. You can also cover garden equipment and include under all risks covers such items as jewellery or mobile phones and it is possible to combine building and contents under the same home insurance cover.

Most homeowners recognise the benefits of having their home insured, after all your home is probably your greatest asset, after your family that is, yet not many have a strong understanding about insurance policies. Home insurance companies write home insurance policies, and while not intentional, these polices are often very difficult to translate. In a bid to help clarify their policies, most insurance companies will add a glossary which explains most of the terms commonly placed in the text, yet there still may be times that you need to speak to your insurance specialist to get them to give your clear and concise definitions, in writing preferably.

Damage cover is almost always standard in your home insurance policy and this can save you a lot of heartache not to mention money. What this does is cover you for damages against DIY accidents, for instance you unwittingly spill a bucket of paint over your expensive lounge suite or you drop a hammer through your glass coffee table.

The world of home insurance

Home insurance provides compensation for damage or destruction to your home, which are caused by unforeseen disasters. Disasters take many forms and differ from country to country and what is covered differs from insurance provider to insurance provider.

Insurance should not only cover the brick and mortar aspects of your home but also anything else that goes into the construction such as piping, electrical, doors and windows. It should also offer you cover on any damage and injury caused by members of the household ad even pets and personal liability and legal matters.

This may sound confusing to you, but it isn’t really. Understanding what type of home insurance suits you best is quite easy to do. A simple telephone call to an insurance specialist should clarify and explain your options.

What are your options when you are looking for home insurance? The most important home insurance is one that covers your property in the event of damage; it also covers rebuilding costs if it is destroyed.

Apart from covering a building home insurance also covers contents. Generally you are responsible for ascertaining the value of your contents. It is not advisable to under insure so while putting together an inventory may be a lengthy process, it is well worth the effort. Remember to list absolutely everything including dates of purchase and receipts where possible.

There are also a number of add on variable insurance options available such as covering the contents of your freezer or your sports equipment. You can also cover garden equipment and include under all risks covers such items as jewellery or mobile phones and it is possible to combine building and contents under the same home insurance cover.

Most homeowners recognise the benefits of having their home insured, after all your home is probably your greatest asset, after your family that is, yet not many have a strong understanding about insurance policies. Home insurance companies write home insurance policies, and while not intentional, these polices are often very difficult to translate. In a bid to help clarify their policies, most insurance companies will add a glossary which explains most of the terms commonly placed in the text, yet there still may be times that you need to speak to your insurance specialist to get them to give your clear and concise definitions, in writing preferably.

Damage cover is almost always standard in your home insurance policy and this can save you a lot of heartache not to mention money. What this does is cover you for damages against DIY accidents, for instance you unwittingly spill a bucket of paint over your expensive lounge suite or you drop a hammer through your glass coffee table.

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