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Tell Me More About..............
UK Home Insurance
Home Buildings Insurance - The first thing
to remember is that the value of the insurance you will need is NOT the value of
your house - it is the cost of a total rebuild of your home - if the worst
happened you would still own the land that your property is built upon so the
insured sum needs to be that necessary to reconstruct the building as it was.
The value of your
property is likely to increase each year, and so is the cost of rebuilding it,
so most buildings insurance policies are index-linked to ensure that the level
of cover increases according to inflation, but you should always check the
policy document to make sure that you don't need to increase the value of your
policy after the first few years.
When you take
out buildings insurance you are not only protecting the main structure of your
home, you will also be covered for any accidental damage inside the building, so
your, doors, windows and even decoration are covered by your building insurance
policy,
in fact anything not covered by home contents insurance should come under your
buildings cover.
As with any form of insurance the different companies assess you and your
property in slightly different ways according to the risks of fire, vandalism,
flood etc that they perceive in your area and according to your own
circumstances, so in order to get the best deal we advise you to obtain 2 or 3
separate quotes from both direct insurers and brokers. If you live in a
particularly old or unusual building such as a thatched cottage or a listed
building then we would advise you to try the brokers listed rather than the
direct insurers as a broker is more likely to be able to provide specialist
buildings insurance to suit your requirements
Home Contents Insurance - The risks that home
contents insurance covers against are not only the usual theft and fire cover
but should also include flood damage, water damage from burst
pipes and subsidence. Most policies will also extend cover to the contents of your garage
and/or
garden shed so that items such as your bicycle, lawnmower and top of the range
hedge trimmer are also covered. Many
policies even include cover for the contents of your freezer should the
power supply fail. Any good home contents insurance policy will also
include cover against the accidental damage of your possessions as well as more
esoteric risks such as earthquakes and impact by an aeroplane (but famously not
against "acts of God"). The rate which you are likely to pay for home
contents insurance is based on many variables - the insurer will look at your
postcode to see if you live in an area with a high risk of theft or close to a
flood-plain, they will ask you for any claims history to see if you qualify for
a No-Claims-Discount, they will ask about the security of your home and of
course the value of the possessions that you need insured. Different insurance
companies assess any person's risks differently, so again we recommend you
obtain at least 2 or 3 quotes from both direct insurers and brokers to get the
best deal.
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