We may talk about home insurance as if it's one thing, but, in reality, it is made up of two distinct forms of insurance.
There is buildings insurance, and then there is contents insurance. You can arrange them together or use separate policies for each, but it’s essential to be clear about why they differ and precisely what each policy covers.
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It’s essential you do not underinsure your home or belongings. If the amount is too low, you could risk a claim payout being reduced or refused.
At a glance
To distinguish buildings insurance from contents insurance:
- Buildings insurance covers a property’s structure and permanent fixtures.
- Contents insurance covers anything you could take with you if you moved house.
what is buildings insurance?
Buildings insurance is a policy that protects the building itself. You can claim for damage to your walls, floors or permanent fixtures and fittings, for example.
what is contents insurance?
As the name suggests, contents insurance covers the belongings you keep in your property. It includes anything that isn’t part of the building’s structure, and that you can carry out. So, everything from your curtains to your clothes. Your policy may even cover the contents of your freezer.
compare building and contents insurance
When comparing building and contents insurance, consider what is fixed to the property vs. what you can remove and take to another home.
Buildings insurance typically covers a property’s permanent structure and the cost of a repair or rebuild, for example if there’s a fire or flood.
Buildings insurance typically includes:
- Roof, chimneys and solar panels
- Ceilings, walls and doors
- Windows, including frames and glazing
- Hard floors, like tiles, wood and laminate
- Permanent pipes, electrical cables and drains
- Fitted kitchens and bathrooms
- Fixtures and fittings like taps and sinks
- Built-in cupboards and wardrobes
- In-ground swimming pools, hot tubs and ornamental ponds
- Paths, drives, patios and tennis courts
- Garages and other outbuildings
Contents insurance covers any items or personal belongings that are your responsibility and you can carry. Contents insurance typically includes:
- Furniture
- Décor
- Electrical appliances
- Freezer food
- Jewellery
- Clothes
It’s worth checking your policy documents to see which items the insurer has excluded, that have specific restrictions or conditions or require specialist insurance.
Buildings insurance, for example, does not usually cover open-sided structures, such as gazebos, carports or log stores.
If a policy is missing a specific cover, you can see if it’s available as a home insurance policy add-on.
Also, please bear in mind that you’ll need separate cover for business buildings and contents.
does everybody needs buildings insurance?
If you are a freeholder, then you will need buildings insurance. The cost of repairing structural damage can be enormous, while mortgage lenders will generally demand that you have some form of buildings insurance in place as a condition of the loan.
The amount of buildings insurance cover you need will be based on the rebuild costs of the property, i.e. the amount to fully rebuild your buildings plus professional fees, rather than its actual market value. It’s vital to ensure your home isn’t underinsured (or overinsured, for that matter).
To do this, you could use the Building Cost Information Service’s cost calculator on the Association of British Insurers’ (ABI) website. Alternatively, you could hire a chartered surveyor to carry out the calculations. You can find one through the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
It’s slightly different if you are a tenant or leaseholder, though. In these instances, it is the duty of the landlord or freeholder to arrange buildings insurance – your concern will be the contents of the property, rather than the structure itself.
does everybody needs contents insurance?
Contents insurance isn’t a legal requirement, but without it, you’d have to meet the costs of replacing all your belongings if they were stolen or damaged, which can often run into thousands of pounds.
It’s easy to underestimate how much contents cover you need, which can cause problems if you need to make a claim. It’s a good idea to go through each room to tally exactly how much it would cost to replace each of your belongings and ensure you have the right level of cover.
how much building insurance do i need?
There are two ways to estimate how much buildings insurance you need:
- Covers the cost of rebuilding
It’s up to you to work out how much buildings insurance you need by estimating the total costs of rebuilding a property from scratch. This ‘sum insured’ is not its market value, which will usually be higher.
A common way to do this is using an ABI or RICS online rebuild calculator to estimate the cost of rebuilding a standard brick or stone-built property. You’ll need specific information to hand, such as the property type, year it was built, how it’s constructed, how many rooms and floors it has, and the postcode.
However, if your home is non-standard – i.e. listed, thatched or has a significant extension or outbuildings – you might need to pay for a RICS rebuild survey. If you’ve just bought a property, your mortgage valuation, survey or deeds should provide a rebuild cost. - Bedroom rated insurance
Bedroom-rated buildings insurance is another way to estimate rebuild costs. In this case, the insurance company bases the standard sum insured on the number of bedrooms in your property. You just supply the bedroom number and property construction details.
Whatever route you take, your goal should be to ensure you are not under or over-insured. You must update the sum insured if you have extended, converted or made substantial improvements to your property or it’s listed by a local authority or Historic England.[1]
how much contents insurance do i need?
Only you know the contents you have in your home, so there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to how much contents insurance you need.
Remember, it’s easy to underestimate how much things add up, so take the time to consider what to include in the cover.
Go from room to room, taking note of all your contents in each and their estimated cost. You may need to do some research to find this.
Here are some of the items you could include in your inventory:
- Jewellery, clocks and watches
- TVs and electronics
- Audio equipment and soundbars
- Furniture
- Paintings and décor
- Mobile devices, laptops and tablets
- Kitchenware, such as mugs and cutlery
- Biking and sports equipment
- Garden furniture
- Freestanding cookers, hobs and ovens (if integrated, they are usually covered by buildings insurance)
- Carpets and curtains
- Clothing and shoes
Note that there’s often a single item limit on jewellery and other high-end items. You may have to get a quote for separate cover.
Learn more about valuing your home contents.
how to make sure you have suitable cover
List everything that is important to make sure your home insurance policy is suitable, and then ensure your policy includes that as a minimum.
You should consider things like:
- Valuable items
- Accidental damage
- Alternative accommodation
- Home emergency
- Legal services
Explore Ageas home insurance or get a home insurance quote.
FAQs
is it best to get buidling and contents insurance together?
It is often better value to get building and contents insurance together, also managing one policy can be easier and less time-consuming. You also only have one renewal to consider.
can you seperate building and contents insurance?
Yes, you can get separate building and contents insurance policies, mixing and matching as you wish. For example, you could get buildings cover with one insurer and contents cover with another.
what is not covered by building insurance?
Items not covered by building insurance include:
- General wear and tear
- Lack of maintenance or neglect
- Deliberate damage
- Rain or water damage because of poor workmanship, bad design or wear and tear
what is not covered by contents insurance?
Items not covered by contents insurance include:
- Wear and tear
- Damage caused by pets and vermin
- Deliberate damage
- Theft, if the property has been unoccupied for more than 60 days
