New home?
What policies do I need?

Home insurance breaks down into two different types - contents and buildings. Insurers will pay out if your belongings or your home are damaged in a variety of ways, be it fire, subsidence, theft or vandalism, flooding and storms.

You can bye a single policy that covers both, but you may be better off treating them as two separate policies, as the cheapest insurer on the property may not be the cheapest on the contents.

Contents Insurance.
Contents Insurance is optional but with 808,000 burglaries in England and Wales a year its not a bad idea. Moreover theft is not the only way to lose your possessions fire claims are increasing day by day. 

Contents Insurance covers the possessions inside your house such as the electrical equipment, carpets, curtains, clothing, kitchenware and some valuables. Premiums will be calculated on the type of property and location. Contents Insurance policies will pay out in the event of burglary, vandalism, fire, storm and flood.

Insurers usually put a limit on single high value items meaning the particularly valuables items may not be covered by your standard policy. If you have valuable items you may need to add extra cover, or consider a separate policy.

Accidental Damages.
All Policies offer accidental damage and is usually charged as an extra. Accidental damage covers damage caused for example by spilling paint on carpets, damage caused by pets or drilling through pipes. If you are planning any major DIY this may not be a bad idea.

The cost of this additional cover will depend on the variety of factors such as age of the property; post code, age of the policy holder, number of bedrooms type of property.

Building Insurance.
Building Insurance is often a requirement of your mortgage so that in the event of a disaster, such as fire, the property can be repaired or rebuilt.

Building Insurance covers the structure of your home as well permanent fixture such as built-in kitchens, bathrooms and out buildings such as garages and garden sheds. Building Insurance will cover damage or destruction caused by fire, storm, theft, vandalism, escaped water, flooding and subsidence.

Useful Tips.
It is worth remembering that installing security measures to your home such as burglar alarms, double glazing and window locks could significantly reduce your home insurance premium.

If you are looking to work from home you will have to check your policy wordings very carefully. Some insurers automatically cover office equipment up to a certain amount in their standard policy. This is fine if you are working alone from your home computer but if your employment involves specialist equipment, or you employ any one else then you will have to speak to your insurer about specialist home workers cover.

You may want to consider a separate policy for laptop computers, jewelry, golf equipment etc these are particularly tempting to thieves and are frequently taken out of the house. If you have any of these items stolen and make a claim, your home insurance premium may increase as a result.

Primecover is here to assist and provide help and advice in making sure you choose the right policy for you.  

---