Buildings Insurance – what does it cover?
Buildings insurance policies cover your house against loss through fire, subsidence and flooding. The contents of the house are not covered and to insure these you’ll have to take out a contents insurance policy. Fittings such as baths and kitchens, which are fixed in place, are also frequently included in the buildings insurance cover, together with garden sheds and garages.
Buildings insurance is not optional if you have a mortgage, as is contents insurance, and despite often being offered a buildings insurance policy when taking out a mortgage you are quite free to reject it and shop around for another one at a better price.
If you are a tenant you may very well find that the landlord already has buildings insurance in place for the entire block of flats, for example and that you need not concern yourself with it.
The amount that will be paid out should your property be completely demolished or severely damaged for some reason is the estimated cost of rebuilding or repairing it. You need to make sure that you have enough buildings insurance in place for this to happen, and if for example you have extended your home or added a loft conversion you will have to tell the insurer so that the policy can be altered accordingly.
Shopping around is always a good idea with any form of insurance and buildings insurance is no exception. Also, you will usually get a discount by combining buildings insurance and contents insurance, but do your research thoroughly, because the combined premiums may still be higher than those offered by another insurer.
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