Buildings insurance

Buildings insurance covers the structure of your home – the roof, walls, ceilings, floors, doors and windows – as well as any permanent fixtures and fittings, such as your kitchen or bathroom. It also covers pipes, cables and drains that belong to your house.

Contents insurance covers possessions you keep inside your home. This could be furniture, white goods, electronic appliances, gadgets, jewellery, clothes and artwork.

If your home is built from something other than brick or stone walls with a slate or tile roof, it could be considered non-standard construction.

Steel or timber-framed homes fall into the non-standard category, together with properties that have glass or cob walls, or thatched roofs. Modular, prefab and kit homes are also considered non-standard.

This type of property is typically more expensive to rebuild or repair as it often requires specialist tradespeople to undertake the work.

Buildings insurance is likely to be more expensive and you may have a smaller choice of providers. For example, it could cost up to £247 to insure a building made of material other than brick, concrete or stone.²

If your garage is a separate building within the boundaries of your property, it will be considered an outbuilding.

But if your garage is integrated into your property, how it’s classed will vary among insurance providers. Check any policy you’re considering to be clear.

If the garage has been converted into a living space, you’ll definitely need to count it as a room.

Most insurance policies won’t cover you for damage caused by rising damp or for condensation. But if you have rising damp, you’ll need to tell your insurance provider.

Buildings insurance typically covers one-off events that cause damage to your home. Damage due to damp happens over a long period of time so isn’t usually covered.

It can be difficult to get buildings insurance if your home is in an area prone to flooding. But the government’s Flood Re scheme should be able to help. It’s designed to make sure people in high flood risk areas can get cover for their homes at affordable prices.

Your buildings insurance policy should cover the cost of repairing damage to your house caused by subsidence, but be sure to check.

If you make a claim for subsidence, or if your home has a history of it, you may find that you have to pay a higher premium. And you’ll probably have to pay a higher excess in the future – potentially as much as £1,000.

No, you don’t have to get buildings insurance from your mortgage provider. However, some mortgage providers will include buildings insurance as part of a mortgage package.

If they don’t and they try to sell it to you separately, you don’t have to take it.

You’re free to shop around to find the right buildings insurance for you. But make sure it gives you adequate cover or your mortgage provider might not accept it.

With buildings insurance for leasehold flats, the owner of the freehold will often buy buildings insurance for the entire building and pass the cost onto the leaseholders through a service charge. This isn’t always the case, though, so it’s important to read the lease carefully.

If it hasn’t been taken care of by the freeholder, you’ll need to arrange your own buildings insurance.

You'll need to check your policy to see if renovations, extensions and other types of home improvement are covered.

You should always let your insurance provider know of any work that’s taking place as it could affect your cover.

There are several ways to help you find out when your house was built:

• Check your home or mortgage survey

• Check your mortgage offer

• Check the title deeds

• Submit an enquiry to HM Land Registry (for properties in England and Wales)

• Speak to your local council

• Ask the seller or estate agent

• Talk to your neighbours.

Yes, you can insure a property that you have a financial interest in even if you don’t own it.

If you’re buying a property, you should get insurance starting from the day you exchange contracts. Although you don’t yet own the property, you’ve legally contracted to buy it from the point of exchange. So you’ll need to be covered in case, for example, the property burns down or is flooded.

If you’re the executor of a will, you may need to make sure that any property included in the deceased person’s estate is insured until it’s disposed of. If the home is empty you’ll need to get unoccupied property insurance.

Buildings insurance usually covers roof repairs caused by sudden damage, such as storms, falling trees or heavy rain.

UK buildings insurance generally won’t cover wear and tear, ageing roofs or leaks due to poor maintenance.

You’re expected to keep the roof of your property in good condition. If you don’t, your insurance provider could reject your claim.