Buildings and Contents Insurance

Why you need it

If you own or rent a property, then it is safe to say you’ll need some form of buildings and contents insurance. Whether your home is a prized palace that Mrs Hinch would be proud of or something that is a little more ‘lived in’, how would you feel if your building or the items in it were damaged, lost or stolen and it was down to you to replace them?

Not only could this cost you financially, it could also cost you time in your already busy life. If your home was covered with buildings and contents insurance, then the financial worries and stress would be taken away from you. This blog will explore the differences between the two type of cover and give you insight into each of their benefits.

Buildings Insurance – What does it cover?

Buildings insurance covers the cost of repairing damage to your property. This includes the walls, windows and roof as well as permanent fixtures and fittings such as kitchens, toilets and baths.

What damage could be covered?

Your buildings cover would cover you from unfortunate events such as:

• Fire

• Lightning strike

• Storm damage

• Falling trees

• Vandalism

Damage caused by natural disaster is unavoidable and cannot necessarily be predicted. Repairs such as the above could cost thousands and take potentially months to complete. Depending on the severity of the damage, your insurance can cover the cost of putting you and your family into temporary accommodation, meaning you would not need to live in a building site whilst the repairs are being done.

Contents Insurance – What does it cover?

Imagine taking off your roof, tipping your house upside down and giving it a good shake…everything that falls out including your fixtures to the walls and flooring is your home’s contents. Contents insurance ensures that all these items can be replaced if they were damaged, destroyed or stolen.

What damage could be covered?

Let us set the scene… You turn your back for one minute and the children have knocked the tin of paint onto your cream carpets, you’ve left the house for half an hour and the family dog has chewed a hole in the wall or even the age old tale of red wine over your fabric sofas. It could be very costly to continue to replace items over your lifetime due to life happening, but accidental damage cover on your contents insurance could ensure all of the above would be taken care of by your insurance provider.

In the event of a fire or flood, serious damage could occur in a small space or even the whole house. Take a look around the room you are in now. From the paint, flooring, wall fixtures right through to the furniture – how much do you estimate this could cost? Now if you were to multiple this by one room or even two, could you afford to replace these items to the same standard without insurance?

If you were to return from a holiday to find your house had been broken into and your electrical items, jewellery and garden tools had been stolen, is this something you would be happy to live without until you could afford to replace them? If the answer is no then contents insurance would provide you peace of mind that your items would be replaced in such an event.

Top tips when taking out insurance

Excess – Make sure that the excess you select is affordable, if you’re ever in the unfortunate position to need to use it. Whilst a higher excess means your monthly payments could be cheaper, you do need to pay this up front if you need to make a claim.

Type of Cover – Look at the fine print of what is covered. For example, many insurers offering basic insurance may not cover your fences if they were to blow down. You may find that the difference in price per month is very minimal but the amount that is covered is more suitable for you.

Amount of Cover – A good exercise to undertake is roughly costing up your home to ensure you would receive a sufficient pay out should you need to make a claim. It may be tempting to take a lower cover amount to save a few pounds on your monthly payments, but if you needed to replace your home entirely would you want it to be in the same condition that you have it now, or would you be happy with having less than you do now?

At CJ White we understand how the costs of your mortgage and the array of insurances could potentially feel like they are mounting up but is it something you can afford not to have? We’ll work with you to understand your budget and source the most appropriate cover to meet your needs and affordability.

If you’re unsure of what other insurances you may need to consider, take a look back at some of our earlier blogs, which give you an overview of the different types and the cover they provide.