Buildings Insurance

Our Buildings Insurance protects the structure of your home and any permanent fixtures from damage. So, it can look after everything from your walls and the pipes behind them, to the roof and windows. And things you can’t easily remove, like a fitted kitchen or toilet. We’ll even pay to rebuild your house completely if it’s ever needed. You can also tweak your policy with add-ons like accidental damage and legal services cover.

If you own a property you should think about getting buildings insurance. You don’t legally need to have it, but if you have a mortgage your provider may insist that you do.

If your property is a house, then it’s up to you to get buildings insurance. If it’s a leasehold flat, this means the building itself is owned by the freeholder and it’s their responsibility. The cost of this buildings insurance will often be part of your service charge. However, if you own the freehold, or you're part of a committee that owns it, you’ll need to sort out the buildings insurance.

Buildings insurance can be there for you if things like fire, theft, flooding or extreme weather damage the structure of your home or any of the permanent fixtures. For example, if a storm blows the tiles off your roof, a football smashes through your window, or a burst pipe causes it to rain in your bathroom. Buildings insurance can help pay to fix the problem so your bank balance doesn’t take a battering.

If you’re wondering how much buildings insurance you need, it’s all about the rebuild value. Which basically means calculating how much it would cost to completely rebuild your property. This is the ‘sum insured’.

The rebuild cost isn’t the same as the price you paid for the property, or how much it’s worth. Normally it’s less than either of these because it doesn’t include the value of the land.

With our Buildings Insurance we offer an unlimited buildings sum insured, so for most homes you won’t need to give us a rebuild value when getting a quote. ^{[1]Footnote 1}

We cover the structure of your property against damage caused by things like fires, storms or burglars. Permanent fixtures like kitchen surfaces and built-in wardrobes are also covered, as are driveways and patios.

You can get a quote for our Buildings Insurance in three simple steps. We’ll ask:

1. for your personal details, such as your name and address
2. what type of cover you want, when you want it to start and about any previous claims
3. if you want to change your excess or include any optional add-ons

Just like mixing a cocktail, a little bit of this and a little bit of that goes into deciding how much you pay for buildings insurance.

Some factors are to do with you, like where you live or any past claims you’ve had. Others are to do with what’s happening in the wider world or insurance market. For example, if the weather has been wild and windy recently or there has been a rise in claims overall.

For more information about how we calculate your buildings insurance price, see our home insurance price explained page.