Brignall Archer

Looking for house insurance is slightly different to buying a pizza for this evening’s dinner.  There are many options, many companies and many ways to pay for it.  You should compare home insurance policies to see what each company has to offer and you will often find that prices differ substantially for the same level of cover.

Beware; a cheaper policy does not necessarily signify a better bargain.  Some companies are much better than others at providing customer service and the important thing to consider here is the end product.  You pay your premiums regularly so that if there is an incident at your home the insurer will provide the funds to help fix it.  If you do not receive a decent service from the company you have been paying premiums to, you might have been better off paying a little more for a reliable service.

Another thing to consider, when comparing home insurance, is what each company offers.  If you live in a thatched cottage, make sure that the provider will insure your home, as some are not prepared to cover the additional risk of fire.  The same would be true if you have a prefabricated home.  If you have either of these special risks, find companies that will actually insure you.

Insurance brokers represent several companies and are therefore able to give you a comparison between the providers they work with.  Full search providers represent a wide range of different companies and the policies they offer, so you can compare them side by side.  Contacting individual companies directly is your other option.  Whichever way you do it, be sure to list any special details that are likely to affect the type and level of policy you require.

Insurance companies have been subjected to cunning fraudsters and their schemes for centuries, and fraud is an accepted fact in all parts of the insurance industry.  When it comes to home insurance, fraud is just as rife but it does not always involve large amounts of money.  Research shows that up to a third of Britons think that exaggerating on a home insurance claim is acceptable, but this ignores the hard fact that being dishonest when you complete a claim form is fraud.

There is no doubt that home insurance fraud is on the increase, with many surveys pointing to insurers’ growing frustration with being unable to audit every single claim for its accuracy.  It is difficult for an insurer to know whether a customer really lost a flashy flat screen TV set to a burglar or whether it was an old, big TV set – assuming the customer ever had a TV set in the first place.

Customers of home insurers easily convince themselves that crooking a big insurance company is not as wrong as crooking their neighbour but in the end fraud, no matter how small, is wrong.  And worse, your neighbour’s padded home insurance claim is making home insurance more expensive for everyone, as insurers pay out more and more money to cover the supposed losses a customer says they have suffered.

Many people insure their homes for the full market value.  If you have been paying premiums based on this figure, you will need to know you are over insured and have been paying too much. When you are heading out for a home insurance quote, it is very beneficial if you know both the value of your contents as well as the value of your property.  Having insurance works like this.  If your home or building is destroyed due to fire or other type of disaster, your insurance provider will need to know how much it will cost to rebuild the structure as well as how much it will cost to replace the contents inside the structure.

If you have a mortgage, you will be required to have home insurance.  When providing the value of your home, make sure to provide the rebuilt value only.  To figure out what that may be, you can hire an architect or other private estimator, or you can calculate the figure on the Building Cost Information Service (BCIS) website.  Once here, enter your property details for an estimate. Don’t forget to include additional items such as your homes permanent kitchen and bathroom, fixtures including lights and fittings.
 
To figure out the value of your contents, go from room to room so as to not forget anything.  This list should include items such as furniture, electronics, window coverings, clothing and even items that you carry with you on a regular basis such as personal media players and mobile phones. You can also insure files that are stored on your computer, so if these are irreplaceable, be sure to include them.  Don’t forget about stored shed items.

In most cases, if an insurer decides not to pay a claim it is for a legitimate reason.  The reason may be due to the facts of the claim, the policy wording or other reasons, such as a concern that it may be fraudulent.  This is because insurers generally base their business on the fact that some policies may result in claims and that the premiums they charge take these pay-outs into account while also adding a profit margin.

Even though a buildings and contents insurance provider would want to pay out as few claims as possible, it would normally behave reasonably, as it obviously would like to keep your return business and possibly attract the business of your acquaintances.  In addition, unreasonable decisions about claims often end up with the Financial Ombudsman Service, a process that is expensive for the insurer and which is certainly not good PR.

It is therefore a good idea to try and resolve a dispute about claims with your insurer first and to try to decide whether the company does in fact have legitimate grounds for refusing your claim.  Remember, the emotions involved in a loss can make matters unclear, at least initially.

Should you be confident that your insurer’s decision has been unreasonable you can take your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service.  Most cases are dealt with as the result of an informal suggestion by the ombudsman, but cases can result in a formally reported investigation.  Statistics show that, in total, about 40% of home insurance cases are decided in favour of the customer, so it is best that you thoroughly consider the insurer’s decision before taking your case to the ombudsman.

You might think that your home contents insurance policy provides comprehensive cover for all your valuables, including electronics, jewellery and other items, such as stamp collections, but that is not necessarily the case; policy terms and conditions vary widely.

There are two constraints that are found fairly regularly.  Many policies have a limit on the amount of cover for each individual item, restricting cover to say £1,500 per item.  If you have a piece of jewellery worth more than this, you will not be compensated for the full value, no matter how much it is.

Secondly, some policies limit the cover for content insurance to a percentage of the entire policy.  If your home is filled with valuables such as artwork, jewellery and antiques you may need to look for a specialist policy when you compare home insurance quotes.  High net worth insurance, for example, is a class of home contents insurance that comprehensively covers high value household content.

Another important point to remember is that valuing items can be a subjective affair and you and your insurer might not agree on what an item is worth should that item be stolen.  Clearly the item will not be available for valuation, so try to get your valuables professionally assessed periodically so that you have firm grounds to stand on if your insurer refuses to pay as much as you claim the item is worth.

Before purchasing home insurance, it is advisable to carry out a little research beforehand to find an insurance company that best meets your requirements.  There are a wide variety of insurance companies offering building insurance, so be sure to check what is available in order to find a policy that provides adequate cover at a reasonable price.

Before selecting a home insurance policy, you will need to think about the type of cover that you require.  You can take out household insurance, contents insurance or building and contents insurance combined, so you need to consider every option before making a final decision.  Browsing through the many companies listed on comparison websites will give you the chance to find a suitable home insurance policy.

If you live in an area that is susceptible to floods or storms, be sure to find a home insurance policy that will provide cover for these events.  Some companies may have restrictions for people who live in certain areas, so it is vital that you find a home insurance company that provides cover for your location.

You can often find the best home insurance policy by going online and using an insurance comparison website.  There are literally hundreds of insurance providers in the market today and using a comparison website is probably the most efficient way of finding the best deals.  Be sure to only consider companies that offer policies that closely match your requirements.  If you own more than one property, for example, then it is vital that you choose an insurance company that will provide cover for all of them.

Today, there is a huge range of options available when you are looking for cheap home insurance.  You can get home insurance quotes when you take out your mortgage or find deals yourself by searching out house insurance quotes on the internet.  You will greatly simplify the task by using one of the many home insurance price comparison websites available online.  These can do more research in five minutes than you could manage in a week, trawling through cheap house insurance quotes to bring you a condensed list in line with your specific requirements.

Your mortgage lender will insist that you take out a buildings insurance policy to protect your property against structural damage, but it does not have to be one they recommend.  On the other hand, contents insurance is very much your own affair, but given the level of crime in some areas, it is always wise to protect yourself against burglary and malicious damage to your personal possessions.

Contents insurance also covers a number of items outside of the home environment, such as cameras and watches.  You should be aware that if you take these and similar items away on holiday you will have to buy separate travel insurance to cover them.  Also, the contents insurance policy may be void if you leave your property uninhabited for an extended period of time.

As well as the standard buildings and contents insurance inclusions, you can tailor the policy by choosing from a range of optional extras to extend your cover.  

When seeking insurance coverage, often people can be a little intimidated by some of the seemingly complex terms and expressions that home insurance companies are so accustomed to using when constructing a policy. 

Standard Construction – This refers to the external walls (brick or stone or concrete) and roof (slated or tiled or concreted) of the property covered in the home insurance policy.

Standard Cover – Provides basic insurance coverage to the property for damage or loss caused by incidents such as fire, water damage, impact, falling trees, subsidence, malicious damage and even personal liability.  The terms and conditions should be checked on each individual policy to ensure that coverage of all the above is included as standard.

Statement of Fact – The document you must sign to agree to purchase the insurance policy, stating that you have provided true information relating to the house and policy, and have not suppressed or hidden any relevant facts.

Sum Insured – This refers to the total amount of money which you are insured for by your home insurance policy.  This refers to the rebuild value of your home and also the values of your personal belongings contained within, assuming that you have taken out contents insurance along with the basic buildings insurance as part of the same policy.

Unfurnished – This refers to a home that does not have any or enough furniture to be considered immediately habitable.

Valuables – This generally refers to personal belongings which are considered high risks for loss or damage – for instance, jewellery, furs, anything made from precious metals such as gold or silver, works of art, telescopes, musical instruments, coin and stamp collections etc.

We hope this guide will assist you when it comes time to negotiating the terms and conditions of your insurance contract and comparing home insurance.

The price of home insurance may be going down due to comparison websites and increased competition between insurance providers, but more and more responsibility has fallen on the customer to get exactly what they want.
 
In order to find the best deal, you must understand what each element of the policy means and entails in order to include it in your policy or disregard it.
 
Before the rise of the internet, we would have to speak to a professional who would talk us through the policy and ask questions about our home.  It was, to be sure, a double edged knife, as while we were getting advice and expert knowledge we were also getting a sales technique thrust upon us.  The internet has eliminated this sales aspect of buying insurance, but in doing so has also eliminated the expert advice, and concise details of what is included in our policy.  We are now sitting in front of our computers trying to figure it out for ourselves, and attempting to understand the specialised language an insurance company uses in a policy.
 
If a contract is made between you and your home insurer, you are abiding by their policy wording.  A sentence may be written in a certain way to benefit them, not you.  But to the untrained eye, skim reading it, it may seem like you are being covered for something you are not.  Only when claiming does it become clear, as you speak to a representative from the company who will explain to you why they will not be paying.
 
When buying insurance in this way you must do your research, and understand exactly what you are purchasing, which takes time and effort.

All forms of insurance, including house insurance, come with their own set of terms and expressions, some of which can be rather baffling for anyone outside of the industry or who has simply never taken out an insurance policy before.  Here is our second alphabetical list of some of the most commonly used house insurance jargon, something to make it easier to understand precisely what you are paying for when you take out that all important policy.

Business Equipment – Should you work or run any kind of business from your home, this refers to any equipment on the property which is essential to the everyday functionality of that business, including computers and all peripheral equipment associated with them, fax machines, photocopiers, office furniture (chairs, desks etc…), telephone equipment (usually not including mobile phones) and office supplies (such as stationery).

Compulsory Excess – This simply refers to the amount of money that the insurance company insists that you must pay yourself first should you file a claim.  This is also commonly referred to as the excess, or as the deductible.

Domestic Emergency – This term refers to an urgent problem that has arisen through unforeseen circumstances relating to your property, for instance serious issues with your drainage, electrical or gas systems, or your plumbing, which creates a serious risk either to the property (creating a risk of damage or loss) itself or to the health of those residing within it (and thus rendering the property unfit for normal residential purposes).