Introduction | Homeowners
| Buildings insurance |
Contents insurance | Level of cover
| Costs of cover |
Choosing a policy | Making a claim
| Tenants insurance | Landlords
insurance
Homeowners insurance
There are two basic types of household insurance that it is advisable
to take out to protect your home.
Buildings insurance:
This protects the basic structure of your home, such as the walls,
roof and foundations.
Contents insurance:
This protects your belongings and possessions that are not part
of the fabric of your house.
Who should have it?
Every homeowner should have a buildings insurance policy. Most lenders
will insist that you have one in order to obtain a mortgage. This
is to ensure that there is no chance that the house they are lending
you money to buy cannot get destroyed without sufficient compensation
to either rebuild it to the same standard or repay the mortgage.
Many people who buy leasehold property do not need are covered
by a group policy for the whole building. This will not include
your contents and you should examine it closely to ensure that you
do not require additional cover.
Who can have it?
To be able to offer you a quote, the insurer will want to know a
great deal about the property you own. They will ask about the construction
date and materials for the building - whether it is modern brick
and tile or nineteenth century stone and slate will have an effect
on your premium. Not all lenders will provide a mortgage for all
types of property, and different insurers sometimes have restrictions
on the type of building that they will insure. Some may refuse to
cover the more unusual property types that exist in the UK, such
as prefabricated buildings or thatched cottages.
Insurers also need to know a little about the local lie of the
land. If you live in a village built entirely on marshland or a
severe flood-risk area, you may find that you end up paying a substantial
premium for your cover, if you can get it at all.
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