Home & Property Owners Insurance

What does Home and Property Owners Insurance cover?

There are two main features that fall under the general Home & Property Owner insurance heading: essentially buildings and contents insurance. These can either be bought separately or combined into one policy. There are of course other elements you should consider if renting out your property, such as loss of rent insurance & potentially the costs of sourcing your tenant alternative accommodation should the worst occur.

Buildings

Buildings insurance offers protection for the permanent fixtures in your home, or property, such as the roof, walls, floors, bathroom fittings and ceilings. Garages, sheds and fences also tend to be covered. Buildings insurance is not a legal requirement, but most mortgage lenders will insist the cover is in place to protect the property.

Contents

Contents insurance is designed to protect your belongings. As a general rule, your contents are the things that could be taken with you if you moved house, or sold your property. Typically this includes things such as your furniture, your TV and other home gadgets, any electrical items, your kitchenware, clothes and jewellery, and any soft furnishings such as curtains and cushions.

What type of insurance policy is right for me?

There’s no real one-size-fits-all and the type of cover you’ll need will depend on your own living situation and type of property, along with the contents you own. At BGi.uk we can cover a near unlimited range of properties right from a tepee, to a wooden cabin, to an exceptionally grand listed building.

If you own your home and have a mortgage, buildings insurance is usually compulsory, as your lender will typically insist that you’re covered to protect its investment. A good buildings policy should cover the full repair and/or rebuild of your home should the worst happen, including associated planning costs and with removal of debris.

If you’re a homeowner you may also wish to get contents cover to protect your belongings, meaning a combined buildings and contents policy could be right for you.

Meanwhile, if you rent your home, you’ll likely only need contents cover as your landlord should have protection in place for any damage to the building itself.