Home Insurance Guide: Buildings and Contents Cover
Last checked November 2026. Offers and rules change: confirm with the provider before you rely on them.
Home insurance comes in two parts: buildings cover for the structure and contents cover for what is inside it. The most common and costly mistakes are insuring for too little, leaving the home empty for longer than the policy allows, and letting the policy renew for years without checking it.
Buildings and contents: which do you need?
| Buildings insurance | Contents insurance | |
|---|---|---|
| Covers | The structure: walls, roof, floors, fitted kitchen and bathroom, and usually garages, sheds and fences | Your belongings: furniture, carpets, clothes, electrical goods, jewellery |
| A simple test | Anything that would stay behind if you moved | Anything you would take with you |
| Home owners | Needed, and required by a mortgage lender | Optional but sensible |
| Leaseholders (many flats) | Usually arranged by the freeholder and paid through the service charge. Check your lease | Your own responsibility |
| Tenants | The landlord's responsibility | Your own responsibility |
You can buy the two together or separately. A combined policy is simpler, with one renewal date and one firm to deal with, but it is not always cheaper. If you live in retirement housing, ask the manager exactly what the building's own policy covers before you buy anything.
Underinsurance: the hidden problem
Underinsurance means the amount you are insured for (the "sum insured") is less than the true cost of replacing what you have. It matters even for small claims. Many policies contain an "average" clause: if you are insured for only half the true value, the insurer may pay only half of any claim.
Buildings
The figure that matters is the rebuild cost: what it would cost to clear the site and rebuild the house from scratch. This is not the market value and not the council tax band. It is often lower than the sale price, but for older or unusual homes it can be higher. You may find a rebuild figure on a mortgage valuation or survey, and a chartered surveyor can work one out for a fee. Some policies offer "unlimited" or very high set limits, which removes the guesswork.
Contents
Go from room to room, including the loft, shed and garage, and add up what it would cost to buy everything new today. After a lifetime of collecting, most people underestimate. Then check the single item limit, the most the policy pays for any one item. Anything worth more, such as an engagement ring, a watch, a hearing aid or a mobility scooter, usually has to be listed separately.
Unoccupied-home clauses
Almost every policy limits cover if the home is left empty for more than a set number of days in a row. The limit is commonly 30 or 60 days, but check your own policy. After that, cover for theft, escape of water and malicious damage may be reduced or stop altogether.
This catches people out in later life more than at any other time. Tell your insurer in advance, or as soon as you can, if the home will be empty because of:
- a long stay in hospital or a period of rehabilitation
- a move, even a trial one, into a care home. See choosing a care home
- staying with family for the winter, or a long holiday abroad
- a death, while the property waits to be sold. Executors should tell the insurer straight away
The insurer may ask for the water to be turned off or the heating left on low, and for someone to visit regularly. If it will not continue cover, specialist unoccupied-property policies exist.
Accidental damage and other extras
Standard policies cover named events such as fire, flood, storm, theft and escape of water. They do not usually cover simple accidents, such as red wine on the carpet, a foot through the loft ceiling or a dropped television, unless you add accidental damage cover. It costs extra, so ask yourself whether you would actually claim for such things once the excess is taken off.
Other optional extras include:
- Personal possessions cover for things you take out of the house, such as glasses, hearing aids, phones and jewellery.
- Home emergency cover for boiler breakdowns, blocked drains and lost keys. Check the age limit on boilers.
- Legal expenses cover.
Things your insurer expects from you
- Locks and alarms: if you told the insurer you have particular locks or an alarm, you must use them. Ask before fitting a key safe, as some insurers want a police-approved model.
- Maintenance: insurance does not cover wear and tear. A storm claim can be refused if the roof was already in poor repair.
- Changes: tell the insurer about building work, lodgers, running a business from home or home adaptations such as a stairlift.
Renewal and price
Under Financial Conduct Authority rules in force since January 2022, your home insurer's renewal price must be no higher than it would charge you as a new customer for the same policy bought the same way. That stops the worst of the old loyalty penalty, but it does not make your insurer the cheapest. Compare every year, using our price comparison guide, and check that the sums insured still fit.
Common questions
Is home insurance a legal requirement?
No, but a mortgage lender will insist on buildings cover, and going without leaves you to pay for a fire or flood yourself.
Does it cover my belongings in a care home?
Usually not automatically. The care home's own insurance often covers residents' belongings only up to a small limit. Ask the home and your insurer.
Who can help if a claim is refused?
Complain to the insurer first, then go to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which is free. MoneyHelper and Citizens Advice have impartial guides.