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HOME INSURANCE<br />
Protecting your new home<br />
What would you do if your worldly goods were destroyed, or your house fell down? In<br />
the hope that neither will ever happen, here’s our guide to finding suitable insurance<br />
Insurance cover<br />
When a renewal notice pops through the<br />
door to celebrate the anniversary of your<br />
moving house, it may proclaim on the cover<br />
that it’s for your ‘home insurance’. But as<br />
we have all realised, that could refer to two<br />
types of cover – contents or buildings. For<br />
those who are about to enter the property<br />
market, however, these terms are not<br />
always as distinct as they should be. Let’s<br />
look at them in more detail.<br />
Buildings insurance refers to the actual<br />
bricks and mortar of the property – the<br />
structure and things permanently attached<br />
to it, such as the roof, windows and<br />
doors. The value may seem at odds with<br />
what you paid for the property, but that’s<br />
because it refers to the actual rebuild cost,<br />
rather than the value of the finished item.<br />
Ideally, this will be index-linked, so it will<br />
rise automatically in line with inflation. If<br />
not, it’s up to you to make sure the value<br />
is accurate. Underinsuring could lead to a<br />
claim being declared void.<br />
Buildings insurance<br />
This is necessary when you take out a<br />
mortgage and the company will often offer<br />
its own policy. You don’t have to take it<br />
unless it’s a condition of the mortgage,<br />
in which case you should study what’s<br />
covered very carefully. Otherwise, make a<br />
few phone calls to major insurers and see<br />
if you can’t do better. Insurance firms often<br />
provide discounted cover if you have more<br />
than one policy, so it’s worth seeing what<br />
your car insurance firm can offer.<br />
Contents insurance<br />
As opposed to buildings cover, ‘contents’<br />
refers to the movable bits in the home, such<br />
as the furniture, clothing, rugs and so on –<br />
in general, the possessions you’d take with<br />
you, should you leave. Should you have<br />
a collection or equipment of exceptional<br />
value, draw this to the insurer’s attention to<br />
make sure that it’s specified in the cover, as<br />
they don’t like nasty shocks any more than<br />
you do, and they should be aware of such
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