Home insurance

If you’re working from home as a result of coronavirus, it won’t affect your home insurance policy.

Any work laptops or equipment should be covered under your employer’s liability insurance.

If you’re worried about any personal equipment getting damaged, check your contents policy to see your cover limits and exclusions.

There are a few things that can affect how much home insurance costs, including:

The amount of excess you pay is up to you and what works best with your circumstances. If you can afford to pay a higher excess in the event of a claim it could lower the cost of your premium, saving you money.

Yes, flood insurance is usually covered in most home insurance policies but it’s worth checking the finer details with your provider.

The ABI (Association of British Insurers) launched the Flood Re. scheme in 2016, to help those living in flood risk areas find affordable home insurance. All home insurance providers in the UK pay into the scheme, with the money raised used to cover homes at risk of flooding.

Yes and no. Most insurers cover smaller DIY claims like drilling through a pipe, but if you’re planning on doing major building work like renovating an attic or adding a conservatory, you need to contact your insurer.

This is to make them aware of the potential risks associated with the construction work. Although this might increase the cost of your premium, it’s important to have the right cover in case you need to make a claim while the building work is taking place.

No, most home insurance policies don’t cover boilers as standard. Boiler breakdown is often covered under home emergency, an additional extra you can choose to add to your policy when you get a quote.

If you want to protect any belongings you carry with you outside the home like your mobile phone, bags or jewellery, you’ll need to add personal possessions cover as an extra.

Some insurers include this as standard, but you can add it to your contents policy.

This covers items worth less than £1,000 each away from home. You can add cover for high value items worth more than £1,000 or laptops and bikes in your quote.

It’s not a legal requirement to have home insurance but it can help to give you peace of mind if something happens. It’s worth noting that if you’re buying a house, most mortgage lenders require you to have buildings insurance in place to cover the structure of the property.

If you need to claim on your home insurance, contact your insurer as soon as possible to provide details, receipts, and any photographic evidence of the incident. Having this information to hand will help them process your claim faster.

Insurers will look at your credit score to check your financial profile, verify your identity to help prevent fraud and to provide you with their best premium and payment options but it shouldn’t affect the price you pay.

Roof leaks will be covered under your home insurance if you have home emergency cover. Cover for roof damage can be included as standard with some insurers but always check your policy details to be sure.

Trace and access means finding out where a potential leak is coming from. It’s included in most home insurance policies.