Home insurance, also called house insurance, is a general term used to describe the two main ways to insure you home. These are buildings insurance and contents insurance.
When you buy house insurance, you can buy buildings insurance and home contents insurance separately. You can also buy them together in a single home insurance policy. This is often called ‘home and contents’ insurance, buildings and contents insurance, or home and buildings insurance.
Home insurance pays out an agreed amount when you make a claim. You pay a house insurance company an amount every month. This is called the premium. When you compare house insurance quotes, you compare home insurance premiums to work out the cost.
Buildings and contents insurance, what’s the difference?
Contents insurance
Contents insurance covers everything that would move with you if you moved house or flat. For example, your sofa and TV, kitchen appliances and personal belongings.
Contents insurance can be valuable to everyone, including renters and council tenants. You’ll need to compare contents insurance quotes to get the best home contents insurance deal.
There are several types of home contents cover so make sure you compare home contents insurance deals to get the best one for you. Contents insurance will typically cover you up to £50,000.
Building insurance
Buildings insurance covers the physical structure of your home, like the walls and the roof. Permanent fixtures and fittings, like your bathtub and kitchen cupboards, are also covered by buildings insurance.
You may need building insurance if you own your own home. Some mortgage lenders ask that you buy buildings insurance. You could compare buildings insurance quotes to get the best buildings insurance deal for you.
What does home insurance cover?
Different home and contents insurance companies will provide different levels of cover. So the cheapest home and contents insurance may not be the best cover for you.
Typically buildings and contents insurance will cover the cost of repair if your home is damaged by:
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Falling trees
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Fire, smoke and explosions
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Water damage from leaking pipes
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Vandalism
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Subsidence (where there are problems with physical structure of your building)
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Oil leaks from from your heating system
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Floods and storms
