Types Of Home Insurance Cover To Consider

By Author: Foster Carr
Total Articles: 30
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There are two main types of home insurance, buildings and contents insurance. Buildings insurance is for protection against financial losses if the actual structure or permanent fixtures of your home are damaged or destroyed. Contents insurance gives you cover for the items in your home that would go with you if you moved. With lots of different policies available providing very different levels of cover, there are some things you should be aware of when buying a policy.

It is essential that your building insurance policy gives you cover for the full cost of rebuilding your property and not just the market value. This will protect you from fluctuations in the property market and will sometimes reduce the premium. The land your home is built on is unlikely to be damaged even if your house is destroyed by fire or flood. Rebuilding a house on the existing plot is often less expensive than buying another. Remember that similar houses may be worth different amounts even if they are only a few streets apart, but the cost of rebuilding will be the same.

Your contents insurance must give enough cover to replace your belongings, ...
... so be careful not to under insure. This means that the maximum your insurer will pay is not enough to cover your losses. Your premium will increase with the amount of cover, but it would be a false economy to under insure because if you were unlucky enough to make a claim you would lose out financially.

To get an accurate idea of how much cover you require, take an inventory and dont forget to include homemade items and gifts. Work out the rough value of each, and consider how much they would cost to buy new. If you pay extra for a new for old policy you will get the cost of new replacement items, otherwise you will only get the value of your old used ones which could be a lot less.

You should think about cover for the contents of your home that you take out and about, like mobile phones, or jewellery. Also think about the contents of your garden, greenhouse and shed, are your tools and garden furniture covered?

Not all building insurance offers the same level of cover. Along with your house, check whether your buildings insurance covers you against damage to greenhouses, sheds and garages as these items can be costly to replace.

If you build an extension, convert your loft or make any other big changes to your home make sure that you tell your inSurance company and update your policy. If not you could lose out if the improved aspects of your home need to be repaired or rebuilt.

If you buy your buildings and contents insurance from the same company you may find it cheaper. Shop around and be aware that the cheapest cover may not be the best value for you, given that for a slightly higher premium you could be very grateful for the additional cover if you are unlucky enough to need it.

It only takes a few moments to get our contents insurance quotes online with Kwik Fit Home Insurance.