Whether you own a home, rent a room in a shared house or are the landlord of multiple properties you will need to protect yourself against financial loss relating to your property. Home insurance does just that - It protects the policyholder against any financial loss caused by unexpected circumstances including burglaries, accidental damage and weather damage.
In return for an annual premium, your home insurer agrees to reimburse you any financial loss suffered as a result of an unexpected circumstance. Each home policy has exclusions to this rule such as theft of large value items, flooding or money for instance and these should be double checked with your insurer prior to purchase.
Buildings insurance is a legal requirement in the UK and no mortgage companies will agree to a mortgage loan without buildings insurance in place. It is the responsibility of the property owner to get the sum insured correctly. If you under insure your property, it may result in your claim being rejected or the payout being reduced.
Although contents insurance is not required by law, if you could not afford to replace all your possessions should they get damaged or stolen, why take the risk? For the sake of a small monthly premium every home should take out a contents insurance policy each year.
Home insurance is made up of two basic elements – buildings insurance and contents insurance. You can purchase a combined policy which covers both buildings and contents or a buildings only or contents only policy dependent on your circumstances. Landlords renting out an unfurnished property can save money by purchasing buildings only cover and stating that the tenants, such as students, must buy contents only cover to cover their furniture and personal belongings. That said combined policies are the most popular policy type on the market.
In brief, buildings insurance covers the rebuild cost of your home, including any fixtures and fitting, if it is damaged or destroyed. Contents insurance protects the non-fixed items within your home such as furniture and possessions. Contents cover can be extended on request to include portable possessions such as a camera or MP3 player which are frequently removed from the house, garden furniture and ornaments and home office equipment.
Each home owner will pay a different premium for their insurance based on a number of factors / risks such as location, claims history, risk of subsidence, contents value and building material. These factors help the insurer to calculate the likelihood of a claim which affects the premium you are quoted. It is worth pointing out that at quote stage, you must provide your insurer with true and accurate information otherwise you policy may be rendered invalid in event of a claim. As you home is likely to be your largest asset this is certainly not worth the risk to save a few pennies!
For building, contents and combined home policies visit Aviva (Norwich Union) for an online quote. Cover available for semi-detached, terraced, bungalows and flats alike and same day cover can be arranged. Click here for an online home insurance quote. 24hr claims line, new for old replacement on contents and replacement locks if you lose your keys.
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