There are two types of home insurance cover. Buildings insurance would be insisted upon by the mortgage lender when borrowing, while home contents would be your personal choice. While you do not have to take out cover for the contents of your home it would be wise due to the fact that if the worst were to happen you could lose everything. Buildings insurance would cover the shell of the home and usually anything that you would not be able to take with you if you were to move home.
If you are considering taking out both forms of home insurance cover then you could consider taking them both out together. By choosing to do this you could save a great deal of money when compared with taking them separately with different providers. One of the best ways you could make savings when taking out insurance is to go with a specialist broker to compare the cost of cover and this also allows you to compare what is and is not covered in the policy.
All forms of insurance will come with some exclusions and limits so you would need to check what these are. The provider might state a limit as to how much they would payout on a single item and they could exclude any items which are very valuable, so these would need insuring independently.
Home contents insurance covers your personal belongings and they would usually be covered against such as fire, theft, vandalism and damage by flood. Sometimes the provider will include accidental damage but others could ask that you payout extra for this, so again always check before taking out the policy. You would have to come to a figure you want to insure the contents of your home for and you can do this by taking an inventory of all your belongings. When going around your home do not forget to check in the loft, cupboards and wardrobes and include even the smallest of items as they all add up.
Buildings insurance provides protection against the elements, fire, theft and vandalism. You would have to have a survey completed as to how much it would cost to rebuild the home from scratch if in the worst case scenario your home should burn down to the ground. You would also have to take into account the costs from removing the rubble so have this added in with the estimate. Buildings insurance would also cover items which you would not take with you if you moved home which could include fitted kitchen and bathroom. In addition any outbuildings would be covered in the buildings insurance policy.
Home insurance cover should be considered essential as if the worst case scenario should happen and your home burnt down to the ground it would cost thousands to rebuild. You would also have to replace all your personal belongings which can add up to thousands of pounds also. While insurance would not be able to replace all the happy memories associated with the loss it would at least help you financially to replace them which would make things a little easier.
David Thomson is Chief Executive of BestDealInsurance an independent specialist broker dedicated to providing their clients with the best insurance deal on their home insurance, car and life insurance.
