What’s the difference between buildings and contents insurance?
What type of cover should you choose?
Key points
- Three main policy types exist: buildings, contents, or combined cover protecting structure, belongings and certain risks.
- Buildings insurance covers the home’s structure, including roof, walls, windows and permanent fixtures like kitchens and garages.
- Contents insurance generally covers items you can take with you, such as furniture, appliances, gadgets and personal belongings.
- Buildings insurance isn’t compulsory, but mortgage lenders usually require it before contracts are exchanged.
There are three main types of household insurance policy. One that safeguards the structure of your home, another to look after your belongings and one that combines both, protecting you against accidents, damage, theft, natural disasters and third-party claims.
You can buy these separately with different providers or go for a single insurer to cut down on admin and, potentially, cost. Whichever policy you pick, be sure you know what it covers. Remember to make sure the cover is appropriate for you and suits your needs.
What is buildings insurance?
Buildings insurance protects the fabric of your home, such as the roof, walls, windows and permanent fixtures like a fitted kitchen, garage, conservatory and outbuildings. Home insurance (combined buildings and contents insurance) protects both your property’s structure and the items within it. Remember to check your policy documents, as what's covered differs depending on the policy.
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What is contents insurance?
Generally speaking, things that you can carry out of your property come under contents insurance. This may include curtains, white goods, furniture, gadgets and even the fish fingers in your freezer. Again, it's worth checking your policy to see exactly what it covers you for.
Buildings and contents insurance comparison
Your cover should reflect your lifestyle. Do you have children, own several computers, love your garden? Policies vary, so be prepared to research and compare buildings and contents insurance before you buy.
Check what’s included as standard and what optional extras are offered. Some policies appear more generous than others, so it would be sensible to make a checklist.
Is building insurance compulsory?
No, it’s not compulsory, but most mortgage lenders insist on it as a condition of your loan. Again, if you’re in the process of buying a home, you’ll usually need the insurance in place from the day you exchange contracts.
If you own the freehold to your property, buildings cover is recommended as the cost of repairing structural damage can be huge. If you own the freehold on a flat or maisonette, it’s a good idea to insure with other owners under a single buildings policy.
How much buildings insurance do I need?
You can work out how much insurance you need in different ways. The first is to make sure it covers the cost of rebuilding your house from scratch at today’s prices, plus professional fees. This is not the same as your home’s market value.
If you’ve recently bought a property, the rebuild cost should be on your mortgage valuation or survey. You could also source a precise figure from a chartered surveyor, for a cost.
Bedroom rated insurance is another way to calculate cover and this hinges on the number of bedrooms you have. We may be able to offer you an unlimited sum on our buildings, contents and home insurance policies.
How much contents insurance do I need?
It’s important you have enough cover to protect what you own. As with buildings insurance, your policy could be based on the number of rooms you have.
This approach avoids calculating the value of your possessions. Alternatively, you may be asked to choose the specific amount of cover you need.
Your worldly goods are usually worth more than you think. It can be a bit tricky to calculate an accurate value for everything in your home, especially considering all the domestic appliances, furniture, furnishings, personal belongings, and precious valuables. Thankfully our convenient contents insurance calculator helps you estimate how much cover you may need.
Make a note of your most valuable or ‘high risk’ things, such as jewellery, as many policies limit the payout for a single item.
Making sure you have suitable cover
When shopping around for home insurance, you should make sure that your policy has everything you need and is within your budget.
The following home insurance options may be offered as standard or for an additional cost as an add-on, so choose wisely – they could save your day:
- Comprehensive accidental damage cover for buildings and contents
- Personal possessions cover away from home
- Home emergency cover
- Cost of alternative accommodation if you need to stay somewhere else because of damage to your home that your insurance covers
- Legal services
- Special events at home (Christmas, birthdays, weddings)
- Away from home cover for students at college
- Trace and access for water or oil leaks
It's also worth checking you don't already have cover elsewhere, such as with your bank account. You don't want to pay twice for the same cover.
Another factor to consider is the excess charge. This figure represents how much you pay towards the cost of any claim and generally, the higher your voluntary excess, the lower your premium. Please make sure you're happy with the excess amount you'll need to pay out in the event of a claim.
When looking for the right policy, it’s worth remembering that some companies aren't on comparison websites. So, check directly to make sure you get the best deal.
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Find out more about home insurance
Our home insurance is there to help protect your pocket from the cost of fixing damage or replacing things that are stolen, usually because of bad weather or break-ins. Fingers crossed this never happens, but if it does our home cover will help you get your home back in shape. Limitations and exclusions apply.