Household insurance
Making sure you're covered
There are two basic types of household insurance; contents insurance and building insurance. They can be bought separately or together in one package. If you are living in rented accommodation you'll only need contents insurance, and often if you buy a flat your building insurance is part of your maintenance or service charge.
Contents Insurance
Contents insurance covers anything in a property that is likely to be removed when the owners move. This includes furniture, clothes, electrical goods such as a television or washing machine, jewellery and so on. It also includes carpets, even if they are fitted.
You'll need contents insurance even if you are living in rented accommodation or sharing with friends. Many people, particularly those living in rented property, don't appreciate the risk of not having their contents insured.
Policies vary between insurers. They give cover to the contents inside the home and, in some cases, in the immediate surroundings of the home. Most policies also give cover for contents that you take out of your house, such as a camera or jewellery (however, laptops and bikes are often excluded, and contents insurance rarely covers stuff taken abroad or left in a car).
Contents insurance normally covers damage from a very wide range of risks. These include fire; theft; escape of water from tanks or pipes; oil leaking from fixed heating systems; storm; flood; riot or malicious damage; explosion; lightning may impact by aircraft, vehicles or animals; falling trees; subsidence and earthquake.
In addition, contents cover includes accidental breakage of mirrors and glass in furniture and there is some cover for damage to rented property where the tenant is liable for this. A contents policy can also cover additional costs if the home is made uninhabitable.
If you're renting, buildings insurance is paid by the landlord, not you.
You can add legal liability as part of your contents insurance. Liability could arise if other people are injured or their property damaged as a result of your negligence. If, for example, you left a bath running and it flooded the flat below, you could be legally liable and face an expensive bill for damages and legal fees. Many household policies also offer cover for any legal expenses to sue someone, or if you are sued.
Buildings Insurance
Buildings insurance covers the structure of the house including fixtures and fittings, together with garages and outbuildings. This means things like baths, fitted kitchens, and boilers, as well as the actual walls, windows and roof.
There is limited cover for boundary walls, gates, paths, drives and even swimming pools. In general, anything that would be left behind if the occupier moved is included in buildings insurance. If you're renting, buildings insurance is paid by the landlord, not you.
The policy should cover damage caused by fire, explosion, lightning, earthquake, the impact of aircraft vehicles or animals, theft or attempted theft, the breakage of aerials, and oil leaking from a central heating system. It also covers damage caused by riot and malicious persons, storm, flood, the escape of water from tanks or pipes, subsidence, landslip or heave, and falling trees. The cover for subsidence involves an excess and many policies have an excess on other sections such as theft or flood.
Buildings insurance can't cover everything. Exclusions often include storm or flood damage to gates and fences, and frost damage. If the home is left empty or unoccupied for over 30 days malicious damage, water leakage and theft won't be covered. Other exclusions are damage caused by war, rebellion and revolution and damage caused by sonic booms and contamination from radioactive fuel or waste. Householders can be compensated for damage from this last cause through special arrangements with the Government.
Find out how much household insurance you'll need.
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