Buildings insurance: a quick guide

Buildings insurance protects your home against the cost of damage from fire, subsidence and other risks to its structure. Our quick guide tells you what to look out for.

Home insurance comes in two types: buildings insurance and contents insurance. Buildings insurance covers damage to the structure of your home itself.

fire
lightning
subsidence, heave and landslip
storms
falling trees and branches
vehicles or animals
earthquake
flood and leakage from burst pipes, water tanks or heating installations

If you want to insure the contents of your home as well, it's usually cheaper to buy buildings and contents insurance together rather than separately.

Buildings insurance and mortgages

Most mortgage lenders will require you to have buildings insurance up to at least the value of your mortgage. However, it's not always cheapest to buy your insurance from your lender - it can pay to shop around.

Subsidence and flooding

Where you live determines the risk of subsidence or flooding affecting your home. This can be a big factor in how much your insurance costs - if you are in a higher risk area, you can expect to pay a higher premium or higher excess.

What counts as part of the building?

As well as the bricks and mortar, buildings insurance covers permanent fixtures and fittings such as baths and toilets, bedroom cupboards, fitted kitchens and interior decorations. Most policies also include cover for garages, greenhouses and garden sheds, but not for boundary walls, fences, gates, paths and drives - for these you may have to pay extra.

What else can it cover?

Some policies include these additional features as standard - if not, you can usually add them as extras for a higher premium.

The cost of alternative accommodation if you can't live in your home while it's being repaired.
A repair helpline that will help you find good tradespeople in an emergency.
Liability cover for damaging someone else's property, for example if a slate slips off your roof on to their greenhouse.
Damage to underground pipes and cables supplying gas, electricity, oil, water or sewage.
Damage to glass in windows, doors and skylights.

How much should I insure for?

You should insure for the cost of rebuilding your property from scratch. This is not the same as the market value - it's often much less. Some insurance companies offer unlimited cover which automatically covers the cost of rebuilding, but it's a good idea to know your rebuild costs so you can compare one policy with another. If you have recently taken out a mortgage then the rebuild figure should be on your mortgage survey. If not, you can have it assessed by a surveyor or calculate it yourself. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) and Building Cost Information Service (BCIS) have produced a useful online rebuilding cost calculator .

Excesses and exclusions

There are limits and exclusions to every policy so check the details carefully. You will have to pay the first part of any claim (the excess), so check how much this is and what it applies to. Subsidence generally carries an excess of at least £1,000.

Insure for the cost of totally rebuilding your home.
Check limits, exclusions and excesses to make sure you've covered everything you need.
Buying buildings and contents insurance together is often cheaper than buying them separately.

Find out more

Compare home insurance quotes now

Read our quick guide to contents insurance

Home insurance: getting a good deal

Calculate your home's rebuild cost