Home Insurance:

What is home insurance?

There are three main home insurance policies: buildings insurance, contents insurance and combined building and contents cover. Buildings insurance cover protects the structure (the fixtures and fittings in your home), while contents insurance covers your belongings.

Combined buildings and contents cover is only suitable for people who own the freehold of their homes. If you rent or own the lease only, buildings cover should be handled by your freeholder or managing agent.

Home Contents Insurance:

If you rent don't assume that your landlord will cover your contents insurance. Half of all tenants don't have contents Insurance. If you're one of them, get it NOW

Home Contents Insurance is designed to protect your belongings. Your contents are the things that could be taken with you if you moved house. Typically this includes things such as your furniture, your TV and other home gadgets, any electrical items, your kitchenware, clothes and jewellery, and any soft furnishings such as curtains and cushions.

If you need both building and contents insurance, buying combined insurance can be cheaper and limit any disputes among insurers, for example, if you need to make a claim affecting both the structure of your home and its contents.

If you decide to buy two separate policies and you need to claim, there may be arguments between your two providers over who should cover what. 

Both contents and buildings policies give you legal liability protection as the occupier and owner of the home.