Buildings insurance – what does a good policy look like?

Sum insured – this must be enough money to clear the site and rebuild your home if it was totally destroyed by fire or flood, for example.

Enough to rebuild your home
If the sum insured isn’t enough to rebuild your home, your insurance company might not pay the full amount of any claim you make, even if it’s for partial damage.    

Alternative accommodation – covers the cost of staying somewhere else (such as a hotel or rented house) while your house is being repaired. This is if you can’t live in it following major damage, such as a fire or flood.

At least £40,000 or 20% of the sum insured

Public liability – covers you for the costs of being sued if anyone dies or is injured, or their property is damaged, because of something that happens at your home.

£2,000,000

Glass & sanitaryware breakage – cover for replacing windows, glass in doors, toilets and washbasins, if they are broken accidentally.

Cover for glass and sanitaryware at no extra cost
The cost of replacing matching suites isn’t normally covered. For example, if your toilet was broken the insurer would replace it, but not the bath and sink if they weren’t broken too.

Included accidental damage cover – limited cover for damage to your property or belongings.

Some very basic cover for accidental damage at no extra cost
This is usually limited to specific items like a TV and will usually exclude most other contents in your home.

Accidental damage due to wear and tear, other contents in your home and sometimes damage due to DIY or building work are usually covered as an optional add-on.

Underground services – cover for the underground pipes and cables bringing water, gas and electricity to your home and sewage away from your home. This will also cover damage caused by leaks.  

£5,000 of cover as standard

Issues outside your property boundary won't usually be covered under your policy. That includes the repair of pipes. If the problem is under the street, it’s the water company’s responsibility to fix.  
The cost of finding and getting to a leak is often covered, but the cost of repairing the pipe itself won’t be covered.

Blockage of sewer pipe – cover for the cost of clearing a blockage in a sewer pipe on your property.

£4,000 of cover both for finding and clearing the blockage 
Blockage due to the pipe collapsing or tree roots pushing into the sewer, for example, might not be covered.

Burst pipes – cover for the cost of repairing burst pipes (this is not the same as cover for damage by the leaking water).

Damage to burst pipes covered as standard
Many policies won’t cover pipes that leak because they’re old and corroded.

Emergency helpline – an emergency number you can ring in the event of damage that needs to be fixed as quickly as possible.

24-hour helpline with approved repairers
Often, you’ll have to pay the tradesmen who come to carry out emergency repairs. You’ll then need to claim the costs back from your insurer.

Accidental damage cover – covers you against the cost of any accidents that damage your home.

Cover as standard or available as an option
Damage caused by your pets or by building work might not be covered.

Loss or theft of keys cover – if you lose your keys or have them stolen, your insurer will pay to replace all the locks in your home.

Cover as standard
Some insurers will only pay for this if you lose all sets of keys, or if the person who stole them knows where you live.

Legal expenses cover – cover for your personal legal expenses if you have problems such as employment disputes or bodily injury claims.

£50,000 of cover as standard
The insurers won’t pay any legal costs that they haven’t agreed in advance. And they’ll usually only progress on the basis of how likely they believe your claim will be successful. Your legal expenses claim will be controlled by the insurer’s lawyers.

Legal helpline service – a helpline you can call for advice if you have a personal legal problem.

A free helpline as standard

Some insurers only provide a legal helpline if you also buy their legal expenses cover.

Buildings excess – an amount of money you have to pay towards any claim.

Excesses in the range £0 to £100
Insurers often let you choose how much to pay towards claims, in return for a lower premium. If you choose a higher excess, you’ll have to pay more for every claim. Also consider extra excesses on your policy, such as subsidence, which can be around £1,000.

Accidental damage excess – if you have accidental damage cover, this is an extra excess you have to pay towards these sorts of claims.

No extra excess

Escape of water excess – if your house is damaged by leaking water or baths and sinks overflowing, you might have to pay a higher excess towards the claim than the normal excess.

No extra excess
Some insurers won’t cover damage by overflowing baths or water damage because of poor seals around baths or showers.

Empty property – you’ll have to let your insurer know if you’re leaving your home unoccupied for a long period of time (usually 30 days or more). 

Your insurance could be invalidated

Protect against this by notifying them and following any instructions they give you. You might be asked to turn off your water or drain your central heating system.