Whilst home insurance is not compulsory, if you have a mortgage then your lender may insist on you securing buildings cover as a condition of the loan. This is simply to ensure that if an event occurs that results in the home being destroyed or severely damaged the rebuilding costs will be met, thus safeguarding their investment.
The means to find the money to replace everything following a loss involving buildings or contents (or both) would be a huge worry if you did not have insurance. Home insurance provides you with security and peace of mind.
In respect of buildings cover you need to consider the home in its entirety. That is, the home itself, including permanent fixtures and fittings, any outbuildings, garages, drives, patios, paths, fences and gates. Cover should also extend to permanent swimming pools, tennis courts, and fixed fuel tanks, underground service pipes and cables for which you are legally responsible.
Consideration must also be given to the cost of removal of debris, and professional fees.
Contents comprise everything that you could take with you if you were to move home. Go through every room making an inventory of contents including items in cupboards and wardrobes. Note also items in the loft, the garage, the shed and the garden. Any satellite dishes or aerials are considered to be an extension of the television and are therefore covered under your contents policy.
The market value of a home is dependent on many factors, including locality, local amenities, size of plot, etc, and therefore bears no relation to the actual rebuilding costs.
You may find your home's rebuilding costs in any valuation report or survey that was carried out when you took out your mortgage.
If you do not have a survey report, you may wish to instruct a surveyor to carry out a survey for you. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors will advise you of members in your area. The Association of British Insurers also offers useful advice and information on-line, together with a guide to calculate rebuilding costs.
For contents cover you should calculate what it would cost to replace all your items at today's prices.
If you already have insurance in place, please refer to your renewal documents or schedule of insurance for your existing levels of cover.
Although you must keep the sum insured at a level that represents their full value, we will increase them each month in line with the House Rebuilding Cost Index for buildings, and the General Index of Retail Prices for contents, or as instructed by your insurer. For your protection, should the index fall below zero, we will not reduce the sum insured. At renewal we will calculate the premium using the new sum insured.
We offer comprehensive cover for your buildings, contents and also for personal possessions taken away from the home. An accidental damage extension can be added to the buildings and contents sections.
We also offer two very valuable optional extras: Legal Protection and Home Emergency Service. See our home insurance optional extras page for further details.
Cover can start immediately, once payment is accepted and authorised.
Yes, provided the proposer is aged 18 or over. We require a deposit to start your insurance and then the balance can be paid by Direct Debit over the following 10 months. A credit charge is payable and this will be added to your total premium.
Only if you take out personal possessions cover. This extension provides worldwide cover for all your personal possessions, uniform, mess dress, tool kit, cameras, mobile telephones, pedal cycles, money and credit cards (subject to limits - see your insurer's policy documents).
Although your baggage will be covered, travel insurance will cover you for additional events and occurrences such as; medical emergencies, travel delays or cancellations. We offer competitive travel insurance, contact us on 00800 11 22 33 03 (UK or Germany) or +44 1782 793 478 (rest of the world).
Your children's belongings are covered on the premises of a university, and within dwellings in which they are temporarily living, whilst attending a university - provided that the contents sum insured is adequate. Please see the 'contents temporarily removed' section in your insurer's policy documents for details of limits.
Full cover for your personal computer is provided under the contents policy (including free accidental damage cover), as long as the computer is for personal use only.
To obtain cover for your portable computer - away from the home - you will need to take out personal possessions cover. Please see your insurer's policy documents for details of limits.
Your contents policy will usually provide cover for office equipment used for occasional clerical work only (where no clients visit the home). However, we do not provide cover for business use on-line. Please contact us on 00800 11 22 33 05 (UK or Germany) or +44 1782 793 476 (rest of the world) if you require cover for business use.
Yes, but accidental damage cover is excluded on contents within outbuildings, and theft cover is subject to limits - see your insurer's policy documents.
Yes, cover is usually provided for contents in the open (subject to limits - see your insurer's policy documents).
We currently do not offer a quote on-line for let, sub-let or leased properties. Please call us on 00800 11 22 33 05 (UK or Germany) or +44 1782 793 476 (rest of the world) for a quote.
No, you cannot insure any items that you do not own or have legal responsibility for. Their own home insurance should provide cover for their belongings.
Only if you have signed an agreement accepting legal responsibility for it - otherwise the school has to insure it.
If you are to insure it and your son takes it out of the home you will need personal possessions cover.
Yes, the premium is discounted for customers who opt to pay a voluntary excess in addition to the standard excess.
Open the door and check the metal plate on the edge, it will usually be engraved with the name and type of lock, and if applicable, the British Standard kite mark.
Yes, we use the latest in encryption technology through SSL which guarantees that any personal information or credit card details that you have input on our website is protected. On-line purchase could not be made safer.
If, however, you do not feel comfortable with entering your card details on-line, please call us on 00800 11 22 33 05 (UK or Germany) or +44 1782 793 476 (rest of the world) and we will take these details over the telephone.
If you don't see what you want on our website, please call us on 00800 11 22 33 05 (UK or Germany) or +44 1782 793 476 (rest of the world) to discuss your individual requirements.
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