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. And unlimited contents insurance gives you unlimited home contents cover, so you don’t have to worry about being underinsured.
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.
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, 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, including 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.
Can I get unlimited contents insurance?
Unlimited contents insurance is sometimes referred to as ‘unlimited sum insured’ and it 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.
Just be aware that some insurance providers won’t offer unlimited contents insurance, so you may need to shop around to find one that does.
If you do decide to take out unlimited contents insurance, you still need to look out for any limitation clauses. For example, there might still be a maximum single item limit.
The same goes for alternative accommodation cover. Although you might assume the costs of temporary accommodation are unlimited, in most cases the policy wording will say you’re covered for ‘the costs of a similar temporary accommodation’ to what you have now.
Always check the terms and conditions before you buy. Don’t just assume your policy is 100% unlimited.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know how much buildings insurance I need?
Your buildings insurance needs to cover your home’s total rebuild cost.
That’s how much it would cost to rebuild it from the ground up, in the same location, if it were destroyed - and 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 rebuild cost calculator provided by The Building Cost Information Service (BCIS) or 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 buildings 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 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.
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 add up 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, using our handy comparison tool.
Please note that you can’t select unlimited cover when you compare home insurance with us. You can choose buildings insurance cover up to £999,000 and contents insurance up to the value of £200,000 - and you may find that the list of suitable quotes we give you includes providers offering unlimited cover.
How much does home insurance cost?
Half our customers could get buildings and contents insurance for
£145
a year**
Half our customers could get contents insurance from
£69
a year***
Half our customers could get buildings insurance from
£114
a year****
**50% of people could achieve a quote of £145 per year for their buildings and contents home insurance based on Compare the Market data in May 2020.
***50% of people could achieve a quote of £69 per year for their contents home insurance based on Compare the Market data in May 2020.
****50% of people could achieve a quote of £114 per year for their buildings home insurance based on Compare the Market data in May 2020.
What do I need to get a quote?
We’ll need some basic information about your home, including:
- your current home insurance policy documents
- details about your property
- the rebuild value of your property
- the type of cover you want.
Once we have the information we need, we’ll be able to give you a list of quotes to compare.
Chris King
From the Home team
“Some home insurance policies will offer unlimited cover for buildings but not for contents. This is worth bearing in mind if you’re looking for a combined policy. You may need to consider what contents limits you’d be happy with if you opt for a combined buildings and contents policy.”
Why use Compare the Market?
We compare 74 home insurance products from leading providers^^
Get a quote in 12 minutes^^^
94.6%^^^^ of customers found our home insurance experience easy or very easy
^^Correct as of May 2020.
^^^On average it can take less than 12 minutes to complete a home insurance quote through Compare the Market, based on data in May 2020.
^^^^For the period 1st March 2020 to 31st May 2020, 1,2690 people responded to the question “When completing a quote using CtM, how did you find it?” 1,220 responded with ‘easy’ or ‘very easy’ (94.6%)
