Buildings and Contents Insurance building insurance , home insurance quotes and home insurance

With flooding becoming an increasing concern due to climate change; Buildings and Contents insurance has become more a necessity rather than a lenders stipulation. With harsher winters and wetter summers buildings insurance protection could protect against the worse case scenario.

Building and Contents Insurance - research the insurance market

Statistics show that most people remain with their buildings and contents insurance provider for a minimum of 5 years and have not researched the best priced buildings and contents product for their needs.

Quite often Buildings and Contents insurance is arranged during the mortgage product sign-up period and is paid by Direct Debit. This fact can mean insurance payments are taken without the payee realising they could save on the overall costs and remain with the buildings and contents insurance provider by default rather than choice.

Building and Contents Insurance - the choices

It is possible to purchase your buildings insurance from one provider and your contents insurance from another. Although simpler when claiming, it can also help on price if both buildings insurance and contents insurance are from the same supplier.

When considering buildings and contents insurance you should not just consider the cost of the product but also if the insurance provides the necessary level of cover.

Insurance costs are determined by a number of factors including whether you are in a high risk geographical area, whether your area will subside at some stage and whether your home is sitting on a flood plain. The age of the building and high re-build costs can be a factor in higher affluent areas.

Buildings and Contents Insurance - sum assured or blanket cover

It maybe possible to have the choice of sum assured or blanket cover on your contents insurance. Blanket insurance cover is where the contents will be covered by a pre-determined sum and sum assured where you can pre-determine a sum of your choice against your contents.

Typically blanket cover for contents insurance is around the £40,000 to £50,000 mark although some will go to £75,000. Blanket insurance cover is normally based on bedrooms and an advantage could be that underinsuring is less likely to happen. Sum assured covers each item in turn, there could be risk that you under insure your contents using this method of insurance.

Buildings and Contents Insurance - make it index-linked

To protect against increases in the price of your buildings and contents insurance it is always good to have your premiums index-linked against inflation.

Buildings and Contents Insurance - rebuild costs

It is important to check that your rebuild cost covers the actual figure for rebuilding the house and all outbuildings; the cost should cover a complete restore of the building. A new building will have this included in the survey but this could be supported by a commissioned extra surveyor report.

Buildings Insurance - Damage costs

Buildings insurance usually covers you in a variety of ways including explosions, fires, subsidence, flood, falling trees and even lightning; all of which mean that your buildings insurance will protect the financial costs of repairing or replacing your home, shed, garage or greenhouse. With buildings insurance the legal liability aspects will also be covered when it involves other people. Buildings insurance will usually cover the internal accidental damage to your property, this could be damage to sinks, baths and any other internal fixtures or fittings. Buildings Insurance will also cover accidental damage to underground electrical cabling or plumbing. There maybe times with Buildings Insurance where additional premium is required for other incidents of accidental damage. Buildings insurance will cover you against damage costs as well as still covering you for the re-build of your property.

Buildings Insurance - Subsidence and Flooding

When considering the costs of Building Insurance against a property you may be looking to purchase, you should first check there is evidence of subsidence or flooding in the area it is located. It can be difficult to get Buildings Insurance for a property that has had these problems in the past. It is a good idea to go online and check out the Environment Agency’s flood map to check out that area. A structural survey can be a helpful to check out subsidence.

With a Buildings Insurance Policy, it is a good idea to check for any added excess charge if this were to happen. Buildings Insurance excess charge for this type of occurrence will increase if you have made a previous claim for the same reason.

The previous owner of a home, with flooding or subsidence, will have buildings insurance cover already and it is a good idea to find out their buildings insurance provider. Buildings Insurance premiums for homes that have been underpinned or been flooded will be typically high so this should be considered when purchasing a home.

Contents Insurance Cover

Buildings Insurance covers the structure of your home but you should still consider the contents that you own and take out suitable Contents Insurance cover.

'New for old' is a term used within Contents Insurance and this is where items are directly replaced for a new version of the same. Contents insurance can have an amount deducted, indemnity, for ‘wear and tear’ before the 'New for old' transaction takes place. It can be good practice to check your contents insurance policy to see if this is applicable before purchasing.

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