Buildings insurance

Buildings insurance offers protection for the permanent fixtures in your home such as the roof, walls, floors, bathroom fittings and ceilings. Garages, sheds and fences also tend to be covered. A good policy should cover the full repair/rebuild of your home should the worst happen.

If you have a mortgage, buildings insurance is usually compulsory as the lender will insist you’re covered to protect their investment. If you’re renting your home, your landlord should have a policy in place to protect the building.

Start with calculating the rebuild cost of your house – once you know this figure you’ll have a better understanding of how much cover you need.

When you get a quote we work with our friends at RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) to calculate an estimated rebuild cost based on the details you provide. We look at things such as type of property, location and construction type e.g. brick walls and a tiled roof. It’s important you check this estimate against your own to ensure you’re adequately covered should you make a claim.

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 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.

You’ll need to let us know if your property is at risk of or has previously been flooded by an external source e.g. 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.