Home insurance is a composite form of insurance that includes two different policies. One of these is contents insurance which covers all of your possessions, and the other is buildings insurance which covers the fabric of your property. Insurance exists to protect you financially in the event of the unexpected, but which events fall under which policy, if any?
In recent years the British weather has become one of the insurance industry’s major concern. Severe flooding in 2007 and harsh unseasonal weather has led to insurers being forced to pay out many more policies than they thought.
The ABI has negotiated a deal with the government that sees insurance assured for houses in certain high risk areas, but these policies are still more expensive. All buildings insurance policies will cover for damage caused to the structure of your property and to any fitted elements such as kitchens and bathroom. Most, if not all, policies will cover for storms and high winds and if yours doesn’t then you should probably talk to your insurance provider. Any claim for damage to the fabric of your property should fall under the buildings insurance policy.
All insurance policies will cover you for damage caused by freezing water. If you suffer a cracked pipe, or water escapes from a burst pipe you will be covered for the cost of the damage and the repair of the pipe. This falls mostly under buildings insurance, but should your possessions be damaged you may claim under your contents insurance. Bear in mind that if you suffer damage as a result of a build up of wear and tear your claim may not be paid.
Almost all policies will cover you should something fall from your property onto a neighbor’s property and cause damage. Many policies will also have a clause that pays for alternative accommodation for that neighbor if the damage is particularly severe.
This will be claimed from your buildings insurance policy. The hard and fast rule is that anything that you would take with you were you to move house falls under the contents insurance banner and therefore claims on damage to these items will be paid from that policy Unfortunately, this doesn’t apply for everything you would take with you.
Many people take garden furnishings with them when they move house and it’s unlikely that your insurance company will pay for damage to such items. You can, however, negotiate a separate policy for garden furnishings if you wish to, but it may be better value for money to simply replace the items when they get damaged.
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