Buildings Insurance
We quote with many of the top insurance providers in minutes
Home Insurance advised and recommended
No obligation advice and quotes
We can re-quote your home insurance each year
Buildings Insurance
Buildings Insurance, also known as property insurance covers your house in case of damage caused by storm or flood damage, a major fire, smoke or explosions, water leakage/burst pipes, subsidence, or third party vandalism or damage etc.
Mortgage lenders will insist that you have buildings insurance, as it means they will be able to recover their losses if the claim was serious and the house was burnt to the ground for example.
Calculating the Cover
The amount of cover you need is the cost of rebuilding your home, which should include the cost of demolition (if needed), clearence of the site and rebuild. The buildings insurance needed has nothing to do with the current value of the property as you already own the land (if freehold). If you are unsure of the cover needed and you have a normal family home, this isn't normally a problem because many insurance companies have a re build ceiling of £300,000 - £500,000 or even unlimited. However, if you still need to know the re build value needed because you have a very large home or someing out of the ordinary then you can visit the Association of British Insurers website http://abi.bcis.co.uk/
Buildings Insurance Accidential Damage
Accidential damage cover is an optional extra with buildings insurance. This doesn't increase the price by much but can be very valuable cover if you need to claim. If you put a foot through the ceiling and have to get it re plastered for example, this wouldn't be covered unless you have the optional accidential damage included.
Buildings Insurance Floodplain Considerations
It is estimated that at least 5 million people in the UK live in flood risk areas. A large proportion of them don't even know it. As mortgage lenders insist on buildings insurance, it is important to know if you are at risk of flooding. Sometimes you may find that one insurer will no longer cover your property or postcode because they say that it is in a flood risk area. Don't panic. Just because one insurer won't insure the property, it doesn't mean that they will all say the same. This is where a broker like Impartial comes in very handy. We will do the shopping around for you.
Buildings Insurance No Claims Discount
This is a discount more linked to car insurance in the past. In recent years insurers have started been giving no claims discounts to building and contents insurance to encourage them not to claim no doubt. You normally qualify for No Claims Discount (NCD) if you did not claim on your home insurance the previous year.
Some insurers will give you a no claims discount if you a first time buyer and others may give you some other form of incentive to arrange your buildings and contents insurance with them. The maximum no claims years that will normally be allowed is 5. This can make a massive difference to your buildings and contents insurance annual premium.