Home Insurance FAQS.

If you choose our buildings or contents cover then we will cover you for loss or damage that arises as a result of incidents such as storm, fire or theft. It is designed to cover certain unforeseen events, but it doesn’t cover everything. For example, it does not cover things like general wear and tear or damage that happens gradually over a period of time.

We provide insurance that revolves around you. We offer two different levels of cover, Home Insurance Essentials, which is designed to cover your basic home insurance needs or Home Insurance Extra, which provides a more comprehensive cover.

If you apply for our buildings and contents insurance, you can also personalise your quote by adding:

• Accidental damage options are available on both Extra and Essentials cover
• Personal possessions both in and away from your home
• Individual high risk item cover, for example, for your jewellery
• Pedal cycle cover both in and away from your home
• Family legal protection
  

As a result, you get to choose home insurance to suit you and only pay for the cover you need.

Our buildings insurance covers loss or damage to the structure of your home, for example, to walls, permanent fixtures and fittings, gates and fences, drives and patios. Domestic outbuildings such as sheds, garages and greenhouses are also covered.

If you own your own home then you should have buildings insurance. If you are renting your home or have a lease, normally the landlord or the freeholder would be responsible for insuring the property.

Our buildings insurance will insure your property against loss or damage caused by certain incidents, such as fire, water and oil leaks, theft and vandalism, impact, storm and flood, subsidence, heave and landslip.

If you would like to include home emergency cover or trace and access, then select our Home Insurance Extra product.

You can also cover yourself for standard accidental damage (for example, accidental breakage of fixed glass and fixed sanitaryware). This cover comes as standard with our Extra cover.

When you take out either of our buildings insurance products, you can also choose to add extended accidental damage cover. This will cover you for things such as banging a nail through a pipe or putting your foot through the ceiling whilst in the loft.

Our contents insurance will cover you for loss or damage to household goods and possessions in your home such as furniture, clothing, TVs, etc.

Our contents insurance protects your possessions against loss or damage caused by incidents such as fire, water and oil leaks, theft, vandalism, impact, storms and flooding, subsidence, heave and landslip.

You can also cover yourself for standard accidental damage (for example, if your TV was to get damaged). This cover is only available with Extended accidental damage for our Essentials cover, but comes as standard with our Extra cover.

If you would like to insure the contents in your garden, yourself against credit card fraud or the loss of contents in your freezer if it was to break down or if there was a power cut, then select our Extra Home Insurance product.

When you take out contents insurance you can also choose some additional cover options, for example:

• Extended accidental damage (which is optional with both Essentials and Extra cover)
• Personal possessions both in and away from your home
• Individual high risk items. For example, items or valuables worth £1,500 or more you wish to insure both in and away from the home, eg. a diamond ring.
• Pedal cycle cover both in and away from your home
• Family legal protection

Essentials lets you cover the basics – like fire, flood, and theft – while still giving you the same great service from a name you can trust. Alternatively, have you built up your home and possessions and want to protect the things that matter to you? Then choose Extra and get a more comprehensive level of cover.

Yes, you can be covered immediately. When you apply online or call in you will be asked when you would like to start your policy. Simply ask to start it from today’s date.

Yes, you can. When you get to the About You page of our online application, you’ll be asked if you’d like this policy to be in joint names. If you select ‘yes’, you will then be able to enter your partner’s details.

Yes, a discount applies when you buy online.

Yes. At any stage of the quote process you can call our dedicated call centre team and we can retrieve your quote information, answer your questions and take payment from you. Please call us on 0800 027 7161. Our UK call centres are open 9am to 8pm from Monday to Friday and 9am to 5pm on Saturday. Call charges will vary. We may record and monitor calls.

Yes, you can. Just give us a call on 0800 027 7161. Our UK call centres are open 9am to 8pm from Monday to Friday and 9am to 5pm on Saturday. Call charges will vary. We may record and monitor calls.

If you decide to save your quote, we guarantee your quote for 30 days on the understanding that all of your details are accurate and correct. We will then store your quote, so you can go back to it. In order to go back to your quote, you’ll need to enter the reference number we give you, your date of birth and the postcode.

Yes, you can. Once you’re quote has been displayed, you can choose to save your quote and it will be valid for up to 30 days. We will then store your quote, so you can go back to it. In order to go back to your quote, you’ll need to enter the reference number we give you, your date of birth and the postcode.

Like all home insurance policies, wear and tear is not covered.

If you would like to cover business equipment in the home then you should choose our Home Insurance Extra product. We can provide cover for up to 10% of your contents sum insured.

If you already have home insurance with us, contact us on 0800 027 7161 (lines are open: 9am-8pm Monday to Friday and 9am-5pm on Saturday) about insuring a second property or holiday home in the UK.

We're sorry, but we don't offer cover for a wedding, such as cancellation costs. However, our Extra Home Insurance automatically increases your cover due to purchases related to the special event by 10%, for a month, both before and after a special event like a wedding or religious festival (for example, Christmas) at no extra cost.

Under the ‘About your home’ section, you’ll be asked for the ‘Number of current consecutive claims-free years on your buildings and contents insurance’.

Your answer to this question will allow us to establish your no claims discount entitlement. If you have had any claims or losses whether insured or not, in the last three years, please enter the details on the 'About your home' page.

Yes. If you have held home insurance before, you may qualify for a no claims discount.
At renewal we will recalculate your premium taking into account a range of factors including your claims experience, which may affect the level of your discount.

If you would like to cover contents which are temporarily removed from your home, for example, your son’s/daughter’s belongings whilst they are living in student accommodation then select our Home Insurance Extra product. This provides cover of up to £5,000 or £1,000 for a single item, pair or set.

Buildings

Accidental damage for buildings is included with our Home Insurance Extra cover. This will cover accidental breakage to fixed glass such as ceramic hobs and sanitaryware (such as wash basins and pedestals, sinks, lavatory pans and cisterns, baths and bath panels but not including swimming pools or hot tubs). Alternatively, you can choose to include extended accidental damage, which is an additional option for both our Essentials and Extra cover. Extended accidental damage will cover things like DIY mishaps, such as putting your foot through a ceiling or spilling paint on a patio.

Contents

Accidental damage for contents is included if you decide to take our Home Insurance Extra cover or is only available as part of the extended accidental cover with Home Insurance Essentials. This will cover accidental damage to TVs, music equipment and the like as well as accidental breakage of mirrors and fixed glass in furniture. Alternatively, you can choose to include extended accidental damage, which is an additional option for both our Essentials and Extra cover. Extended accidental damage will cover things like spillages on carpets and soft furnishings.

View our additional cover options page for more information.

If you’d like to extend your cover, then it is available with our Home Insurance Essentials and Extra cover. You just need to change the drop-down next to the extended accidental damage option to ‘yes’ or ask when you call us to include it.

Unfortunately, we won't be able to cover loss or damage from malicious acts, vandalism, theft, water or oil leaks, breakage of glass or sanitaryware, or frost damage to any plumbed in domestic water or heating installation for a period of more than 30 consecutive days if you choose our Essentials cover or 60 consecutive days if you choose our Extra cover. In this case there is no cover from the first day the home is not lived in.

If you are planning to be away from home for an extended period, then please do let us know as soon as you can.

You can choose to pay monthly by direct debit or annually by debit or credit card. Please note that if you choose to pay by direct debit the payment will include a 8.5% service charge.

The excess is the amount you must pay towards each and every claim. The excesses are shown on your policy schedule and/or by endorsement.
There are three types of excess:

• Policy Excess: this is applied to all policyholders and is part of the policy terms, in addition to this excess there may be a:
• Voluntary Excess: this is an optional amount that you can choose which will reduce your premium but will also reduce the payment of claims under the policy; and/or a
• Compulsory Excess: these may be applied by us to your policy to reflect your policy risk. If we have added any compulsory excess(es), we will tell you before they apply, and they will be shown on your policy schedule and/or by endorsement. A compulsory excess may apply to one or all sections of the policy.

For example, a burglary could result in damage to your buildings and also theft of your contents. If both your buildings and contents were insured under this policy with a standard policy excess on each section, we would only apply one excess.

If you had chosen a voluntary £150 excess under one or both of these sections, then the voluntary excess would apply in addition: for example, we would add the two excesses together to make a total excess of £250 for Extra cover or £300 for Essentials cover (£100 Extra policy or £150 Essentials policy and £150 voluntary). 

If your policy was subject to an endorsement that applied an additional compulsory £200 excess in respect of theft, then we would apply a total excess of £450 for Extra cover or £500 for Essentials cover (£100 Extra policy or £150 Essentials policy plus £150 voluntary plus £200 compulsory by endorsement).

We want you to understand how much you will have to pay in the event of a claim, so if you need any help or guidance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Please view both the Home Insurance Essentials Summary Document  PDF: 719KB and our Home Insurance Extra Policy Summary Document  PDF: 1.71MB . For full details please read our Home Insurance Essentials Policy Booklet  PDF: 268KB and our Home Insurance Extra Policy Booklet  PDF: 304KB .

Our home insurance policies are generally renewable every year. If you are unsure when you renewed with us, simply call us on 0370 900 3110.

You have the option to add family legal protection cover where you will be covered for the costs of pursuing legal proceedings arising from:

• Death of or personal injury to you or your immediate family.
• Buying or hiring goods or services for your own personal use.
• Any infringement of your legal rights from owning or occupying your home.
• A breach of your employment contract.

You will also be covered for the costs of defending legal proceedings arising from:

• A motoring prosecution brought against you.
• The sale of privately owned goods by you.

We will also pay your costs in connection with a formal enquiry by HM Revenue & Customs into your private tax affairs. 

For details of what's not covered, please refer to the policy booklet.

We include cover for high-risk property like jewellery, pictures, works of art and stamp and coin collections.

For Essentials, we will cover your high risk items in total for up to 20% of your contents sum insured and up to 5% of your contents sum insured (minimum £2,000) for a single item, pair or set.

For Extra, we will cover your high risk items in total for up to 33% of your contents sum insured (minimum £14,000) and up to 5% of your contents sum insured (minimum £2,000) for a single item, pair or set.

Trace and access relates to cover for the reasonable costs involved in tracing the source of an escape of water or leakage of oil. This includes replacement or repair of any walls, floors or ceilings (including fixtures and fittings attached to them) inside the home where this occurs in the course of these investigations.

If you require home emergency cover, then it is included as standard with our Home Insurance Extra cover. We will cover you for up to £150 against certain call out charges, labour and parts or materials for immediate repairs to stabilise and remove the emergency.

We will send a repairer to assess the situation and carry out emergency work arising from:

• Burst pipes or sudden leakage.
• Break in or vandalism, compromising the security of your home.
• Storm damage causing water to enter your home or likely to cause further loss or damage to your home or its contents.
• Impact damage by falling trees, or by a vehicle or a plane or aerial debris.
• Failure of your domestic water mains supply leaving you with no running water.
• Failure of your gas supply pipe leaving you unable to use your gas appliances.
• Failure of your domestic electricity system leaving your home without electricity.
• Blocked drains.
• Failure of your domestic hot water system.
• Total failure of your central heating system between the months of September and April.
• A smashed toilet bowl or cistern, or breakage of the cistern internal mechanism that prevents flushing.
• Emergency repairs if subsidence or heave or landslip causes sudden damage allowing water to enter or compromise the security of your home by breaking external windows, doors or their frames.

For details of what's not covered, please refer to the policy booklet.

We offer a range of additional cover options to add to your home insurance. Take a look at our additional cover options page to find out more.
If you would like to add an additional cover option to your insurance cover, then please either give us a call on 0800 027 7161 or add the option to your quote when buying a new policy.

We take pride in the claims service we offer to our customers and believe it should be as straightforward as possible.

If an accident, loss or damage occurs to your home or belongings that could result in a claim, then this is what you need to do.

If you are in any doubt as to what you should do, or you need help in making your claim, please give us a call.

Step 1: Report to the Police (if applicable)

Report the following to the police as soon as possible and get a crime reference number or loss report number:

• Theft, attempted theft or loss of property.
• Any loss or damage caused by malicious acts, vandalism, riot, civil commotion, strikes or labour disturbances.

Step 2: Check whether you are covered

Before you make a claim check your policy schedule and policy booklet to ensure you have the correct level of cover. Pay particular attention to:

• Any endorsements and excesses that apply.
• Details of what we will and will not cover.
• 'Claims settlement' at the end of each section - this tells you about any conditions that may affect the amount of any claim settlement.
• All general exceptions and conditions.

Step 3: Gather your information

To help us process your claim quickly, please have the following information to hand:

• Your policy number.
• The date and time of the loss or damage.
• The police loss report number or crime reference number (if applicable).

Step 4: Make a claim

To make a claim, please ring us on one of the following numbers. All lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call charges will vary. Calls may be recorded or monitored.

Home insurance: 0370 900 5565
(For making general home insurance claims)

Home emergency cover: 0845 155 6403
(For our home emergency service provided by Homeserve)

Family legal protection: 0370 050 0962
(For making family legal protection claims)

Legal helpline: 0370 050 0962
(For obtaining legal advice)

Domestic emergency helpline: 0800 408 9103
(For advice in the case of a home emergency and you do not already have home emergency cover)

Step 5: What happens next?

• We will write to confirm your claim details and keep in touch by phone to let you know what is happening.
• We may ask an independent loss adjuster to visit you, in which case we will let you know.
• Complicated claims, such as those for subsidence, may take longer than others to complete. If that is the case we will give you the name of a personal contact that will keep you informed about progress.

When you save a quote, we will provide you with a reference number which remains valid for 30 days. Simply click on the link ‘Go back to your saved quote’ and you will be asked to enter your reference number, postcode and date of birth. These details will then enable us to retrieve your quote for you.

You can find your home’s rebuilding cost in the valuation report or survey you had carried out when you purchased or re-mortgaged your home. This will need to be increased to allow for inflation since they survey was carried out. If you haven't had a report or survey carried out in the last few years or to find out more about rebuilding costs please visit The Association of British Insurers website where you can use the rebuilding costs calculator to work out your home's rebuilding cost.

Yes. It is important that you keep us up-to-date if you move home. Your home insurance is designed to cover your home and it’s contents based on a particular address and the type of property. So it is very important that you let us know the address of your new property and you'll need to check that you have enough cover.

We will notify you when it gets close to your renewal time. We’ll send you details of any new conditions and the premium for the year ahead. If you have already agreed to pay by Direct Debit, we will continue to take these payments from the designated account unless you tell us otherwise.

You must tell us:

• of any changes to the information contained in your statement of fact, a copy of which will be enclosed with your renewal pack and sent to you in the post in good time before your renewal date.
• if you want to change the way you pay.
• if you do not want to renew this policy.

You may cancel your policy at any time:

• if you have not made a claim in the current period of insurance, you may cancel this policy at any time,and we will refund the premium paid for the period of unused cover.
• If you have made a claim in the current period of insurance:
  • You may cancel the policy within 14 days of receiving the policy document or of the start or renewal date of the policy (whichever is later), and we will refund the premium paid for the period of unused cover.
  • You may cancel the policy after 14 days of receiving the policy documents or of the start or renewal date of the policy (whichever is later), but no refund of premium will be due.