What’s covered by home insurance?

What does home insurance cover?

A home insurance policy is typically made up of buildings insurance and contents insurance.

• Buildings insurance covers the building itself, and permanent fixtures and fittings such as a fitted kitchen or bathroom.

• Contents insurance covers the items inside your home, such as clothes, gadgets, furniture and carpets.

A standard home insurance policy should cover:

Flooding

Flood insurance is generally included as standard in most buildings and contents policies. By flooding, we mean unforeseen damage caused by a natural event, such as heavy rainfall or a burst riverbank.

Subsidence

Most buildings insurance policies include cover for subsidence damage, but only if your home has never suffered from it before.

Some policies might also include cover for lost or damaged items due to subsidence, and alternative accommodation if you need to move out while your home is being repaired.

Fire

Cover for fire damage comes as standard with buildings and contents insurance.

Storms

You’ll almost certainly have cover for storm damage included in your buildings and contents insurance. This helps to cover repairs or rebuilding costs if a storm damages your home.

Storm damage insurance normally only covers your home and any sheds or outbuildings. Damage to fences, hedges and gates is usually excluded.

Burst water pipes, frozen pipes and water damage

Most buildings insurance policies include damage to your home caused by a sudden water leak or burst pipe. Insurance providers typically call this ‘escape of water’ cover.

Check to see if you’re covered for the repair or replacement of burst pipes, as some policies only cover damage caused by the leak.

And be aware that you won’t be covered for damage caused by a slow leak. Insurance providers may consider this a maintenance issue that should have been identified and repaired.

Theft

Cover for theft comes as standard with contents insurance, but only for items that are stolen from your home.

Smartphone

You phone is covered by your contents insurance if it’s stolen during a break-in. But, realistically, your phone is more likely to be stolen while you’re away from home.

To cover your belongings against theft, loss or damage when you’re out and about, you need personal possessions insurance.

This isn’t typically included as standard with contents insurance, but you can add cover for an additional fee.

Engagement ring

If your engagement ring is worth more than the single-item limit on your contents insurance (the maximum amount your insurance provider will pay out for a single item), then you’ll need to ask your provider to list it separately on your policy.

This is true of any valuables worth more than the single-item limit on your policy.

It’s worth considering personal possessions insurance to cover your ring while you’re out and about

Car keys

Even if your car keys are stolen from your home, you might actually find they’re covered by your car insurance.

Replacing lost car keys can be very expensive, especially modern computerised fobs. So check both your car and home insurance to make sure you’re covered for theft, wherever your keys are taken from.

What isn’t covered by home insurance?

Although home insurance policies vary from provider to provider, they all have things they won’t cover. Standard exclusions typically include:

General wear and tear

Home insurance doesn’t cover the normal wear and tear of your possessions. The same goes for broken appliances.

This means that if your beloved sofa is sagging and the springs are going, you’ll need to shell out for a replacement yourself.

Prolonged absence

Generally, insurance policies will state that you need to tell your provider if you’re going to be away from home for more than 30 to 60 days.

An empty house is considered a higher risk than an occupied one. That’s because there’s a greater risk of theft or a leak, for example, if you’re not home.

Speak to your home insurance provider if you intend to be away for longer than 30 to 60 days as you may be able to extend your cover.

Alternatively, you could choose specialist unoccupied home insurance.

Asbestos

Your home insurance policy is unlikely to include any kind of dedicated asbestos insurance cover.

But if asbestos is discovered or disturbed after an ‘insurable event’ such as a fire or flood, your buildings insurance may cover the cost of removing it.

Accidental damage

Accidents such as spilling red wine on your new cream sofa aren’t covered as standard by most contents insurance policies.

You’ll only be able to claim if you have accidental damage insurance. This can be added to your home contents insurance for an additional fee.

Poor maintenance

Your insurance provider might reject a claim if you haven’t properly maintained your home – for example, if you have a leak because you haven’t replaced broken roof tiles.

Damp and mould problems due to poor ventilation will also be considered a maintenance issue, so they’re unlikely to be covered.

Frost damage

Most insurance providers won’t cover damage as a result of frost.

Home insurance is there to protect your home against unpredictable and unexpected events, such as flash flooding or a freak storm. Frost happens every winter, so it’s not considered an insurable event.

Deliberate damage

Standard home insurance typically covers acts of vandalism carried out by a stranger – for example, a brick through your window or graffiti sprayed on your walls.

However, it won’t cover deliberate damage by you, family members living in your home or any guests you invite around.

Pest infestations

Most standard home insurance policies don’t cover damage by pests, such as rats and mice.

But their removal might be covered if you have home emergency cover – available as an optional add-on to home insurance for an additional cost. Pests that require specialist removal, like bees or moths, are likely to be excluded.

Damage caused by pets

Damage caused by pets is unlikely to be covered by standard home insurance.

Accidental damage insurance might include some level of cover, but policies specifically exclude damage caused by chewing, scratching, tearing or fouling.

You’ll also need to tell your home insurance provider if you have a pet. If you don’t, it could invalidate your policy.