Where do You Fit In? – Part I

As such, home insurance is often straightforward. However, if you have a specific type of house or live in special circumstances, you may need something a little more specialised.

In short, home insurance provides coverage to the very building you live in and also the stuff contained in it, against theft and damage caused by flood or fire.

This is the nature of your standard buildings and contents insurance policy. According to your preferences, you can opt for cover for one or both of these simultaneously.

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Buildings Insurance

This policy protects the structure of your house as well as any permanent fixtures like your kitchen and bathroom fittings and also your roof.

This often extends to the outer buildings such as sheds, garages and greenhouses as well. But it doesn’t protect walls, fences and gates.

Although it’s not required legally, most lenders insist you to get buildings cover before you are allowed to take out a mortgage.

Contents Insurance

If you calculate the total cost of your belongings, you’d realise how much it could cost to replace all of them, perhaps tens of thousands of pounds. These can be damaged or departed from you due to fire, flood or theft. You can be protected against this loss with a contents policy. Such a cover helps if you have to replace a smashed cupboard or furniture damaged by flood.

Landlord’s Insurance

If you have rented out your house, i.e. if you are a landlord, you are responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the rented building.

An ordinary building insurance policy typically won’t cut it for landlords, since someone else lives in the building. So, something particularly meant for landlords is required.

Landlord’s insurance can even cover things such as public liability and loss of rent.

Tenant’s Insurance

If you are living in a house or flat on rent, you don’t need buildings insurance. Thus you can focus totally on protecting your belongings i.e. contents. This is true also about students or those who live in a house share, because more people in the house creates more chances for something to happen to your contents.

Some landlords may wish that you buy a contents policy to complete your tenancy agreement; hence you should check out what cover is available.

But special houses and situations don’t end here. There are more which we’ll cover in our next article. Till then, stay tuned!