Buildings insurance

What is buildings insurance?

Buildings insurance covers your home’s physical structure - that means all its permanent fixtures such as the:

• Roof
• Walls
• Floors
• Bathroom fittings
• Ceilings

Garages, sheds and fences are usually covered too.

Buildings insurance doesn’t cover loss or damage to your home’s contents though. To protect all your possessions you will need a contents insurance policy. A combined home insurance policy can often work out cheaper than taking out two separate policies.

If you have a mortgage, buildings insurance is usually compulsory as the lender will insist you’re covered to protect its investment. If you’re renting your home, your landlord should have a policy in place to protect the building. Your policy should also cover the full rebuild of your home should disaster strike.

Do I need buildings insurance?

This depends on your situation. You’ll probably need buildings insurance if you own your home. Examples include:

• If you’re a homeowner with a mortgage. Your mortgage lender will usually insist that you have buildings insurance.
• If you’re a landlord you’ll need to buy buildings insurance as you’re the owner of the property and responsible for its upkeep.

What factors make up my home’s rebuild value?

The calculator we use when you get a quote, provided by the Buildings Cost Information Service, will consider many factors, including:

• The age of your property
• The building materials used
• The location of your property
• Subsidence risk
• Flood risk
• Whether or not the property is listed
• The number of doors, windows and rooms

If your house has a rebuild value of over £500,000 - your home might be classed as 'high value'. This usually happens with listed buildings insurance as repairing any damage may require specific materials, which can increase costs. It's worth talking with your insurer, as some offer high value home insurance as a specific policy.

If you're a landlord, you may need a specialist policy that is designed for rental properties to cover the extra risks involved. Find out more about landlord insurance

You’ll need to let us know if your property is at risk of flood, or has previously been flooded by an external source, such as a river, heavy rainfall or the sea.

Roughly one in six properties in the UK is at risk of flood damage, and the number of people at risk is predicted to grow significantly over the next few decades.

How do I get a cheaper buildings insurance quote?

There are ways to make sure you don’t spend more than you need to on your insurance:

• Don’t over insure. It’s important to give an accurate cost of rebuilding your property, otherwise you’ll end up paying for more cover than you need.
• No-claims bonus (NCB) is a great way of saving money for future policies. If you’ve not previously made a claim you’ll usually be rewarded with a discount from the insurer. The more years you go without claiming, the bigger the discount applied.
• Explore policy options to try and find a cheaper policy. If you’re a homeowner it’s typically cheaper if you opt for a combined policy covering both buildings and contents insurance from the same insurer.
• Paying annually, rather than paying monthly instalments, is often the cheaper option. If you pay monthly, insurers can charge interest and admin fees on top of your price.
• Shopping around can also be an effective way of finding a cheaper policy. Don’t just accept your renewal quote from your existing provider. It’s not always the best deal.
• Installing smoke alarms could also reduce your premium. Regardless of potentially saving you money, you should have smoke alarms fitted and regularly maintained in your home.