What is unlimited home insurance?
An unlimited home insurance policy means just that: there’s no limit to how much you can claim on your buildings insurance if you had to extensively repair, or rebuild, your house.
Unlimited home insurance offers the reassurance that you’re fully covered in the event of a claim – which holds real value for those with large, expensive homes or properties in flood risk zones, for example. There’s a downside though, which is that you could end up paying more than you need to for your home insurance.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need unlimited home insurance?
If you own a home that would cost a large amount of money to rebuild – perhaps it’s listed, or very large, or designed by a famous architect – unlimited home insurance could be worthwhile.
Unlimited buildings insurance means that you don’t need to reassess your cover level if you extend or improve your home. You should, however, still make your insurance provider aware if you’re making significant changes to your home, which covers renovations, building additions and substantial maintenance projects.
But before you buy an unlimited home insurance policy, shop around to see what cover is offered by standard buildings insurance policies – you could find one that meets your needs.
How do I know how much buildings insurance I need?
Your buildings insurance needs to cover your home’s total rebuild cost – meaning, how much it would cost to rebuild it from the ground up, in the same location, if it were destroyed. It includes everything from architect’s fees to site clearance costs. This isn’t the same as your home's market value – indeed, it’s often less.
A chartered surveyor can help you with your home's rebuild cost, or you can use the re build cost calculator provided by The Building Cost Information Service (BCIS) of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
You can also calculate the rebuild value of your house using the BCIS service when you compare buildings insurance with us.
Don’t forget that the amount will rise (or fall) over time with inflation – so you might need to revisit the valuation. Read our guide to calculating the rebuild cost of your home for more information.
What does building insurance cover?
Buildings insurance protects the bricks and mortar of your house – as well as your fitted kitchen and bathroom, and often outbuildings – against events including:
- theft and vandalism
- fire, flood, earthquakes and explosions
- storms and weather damage
- subsidence
- fallen trees or lamp posts
What isn’t covered by buildings insurance?
Regardless of whether it’s an unlimited policy or standard cover, most buildings insurance usually won’t pay out for:
- general wear and tear
- storm damage to gates and fences
- damage from insects or birds
Every policy is different though, so check the policy documents to be sure what is and isn’t covered.
Can I get unlimited contents insurance?
Unlimited contents insurance is sometimes referred to as ‘unlimited sum insured’ and it basically means that all your home contents are covered by the policy.
It’s likely to cost you more than standard content insurance, but it takes away the worry of being underinsured.
How do I know how much contents cover I need?
There are plenty of online content calculators to help you estimate the value of your home contents. When you get a quote with us, you’ll have the option to use our contents calculator to help you understand how much cover you need.
Otherwise, you can go from room to room with a pen and paper, and estimate the value of your home contents. It may take a little while but it’s certainly worth your time.
Is unlimited contents insurance worth it?
It could be, if you own a lot of priceless antiques or art. But the chances are you’ll find a much cheaper deal if you opt for a contents policy with an upper limit. And for many homeowners, that limit is more than adequate to give them total peace of mind.
Where can I get buildings and contents insurance?
We can help you with that. It takes just a few minutes to compare quotes from a range of trusted UK insurance providers – with our handy comparison tool. So why not give it a try today and see if you could save?
