Building Insurance covers the building, but not the contents
Buildings insurance covers the cost of repairing damage to the structure of your property. This includes the walls, windows, and roof as well as permanent fixtures and fittings such as baths, toilets, and fitted kitchens. As a general rule, buildings insurance covers the cost of rebuilding your house from the ground up. It is likely to differ from the market value of your home and often includes the cost of services like demolition, site clearance, and architects’ fees. Generally, buildings insurance covers the cost of loss or damage caused by: fire, smoke, explosions flood, storms, natural disasters fallen trees, lamp posts, aerials, or satellite dishes vandalism, or malicious damage subsidence vehicle or aircraft collisions. Depending on the type of policy you choose, you may also be covered for structures around your home like garages, outside walls, and driveways.
Do you need buildings insurance?
If you’re a homeowner with a mortgage, your lender will insist you have buildings cover from the date you exchange contracts while buying, or when you remortgage somewhere you already own.
Home insurance isn’t a legal requirement though, so if you don’t have a mortgage you don't have to buy it. But repairs can be expensive, so a building's policy could save you from a costly bill.
For those of you that are renting, buildings insurance is the landlord’s responsibility. You need contents insurance to protect your possessions.
The difference between buildings and contents cover
You can purchase buildings and contents cover separately, or as a combined home insurance policy.
Buildings insurance protects the structure of your home and anything you couldn’t take with you if you moved, like built-in wardrobes, light switches, and flooring.
Contents insurance covers your sofa, kitchen equipment, TV, other belongings, and valuables.
If something is worth over £1,000, you might need to declare it separately.
What’s covered?Buildings insurance covers vandalism, fires, tree damage, burst pipes, theft, vehicle collision, and weather damage, as well as subsidence or heave. It covers the fabric of the building itself:
Permanent fixtures and fittings are anything you couldn’t take with you if you moved to a new house, such as bathroom suites, kitchen units, drains, tanks, cables, and switches. |
What isn't coveredMost buildings insurance policies will have a list of things they won’t cover. A few common exclusions are:
Each insurance policy will be slightly different, so check the cover wording and exceptions. |
Other things to consider
Not all policies have the same levels of cover.
You should always check your policy for full details, but there are a few things you might want to consider: