What Does Building Insurance Cover?

Everything You Need to Know About Building Insurance and What it Covers

What is Covered by Buildings Insurance?

Building insurance is essential to protect your home, and could end up saving you a whole lot of money if something goes wrong. However, it can be tricky to know exactly what is covered by buildings insurance and what isn’t.

There are two types of home insurance – contents insurance which protects all the belongings in your property, and buildings insurance which covers the structure of the building.

Limits, terms and exclusions apply to all building insurance policies, so it’s important to check that you have the right level of cover.

If you’re wondering precisely “What does building insurance cover?”, this guide has all the answers. We’ll explain exactly what you can expect from a buildings insurance policy and how to determine how much buildings cover you need.

What is Building Insurance?

Before we dive into answering the question on everyone’s lips – “What does building insurance cover?” – let’s explain exactly what it is and how it works.

Buildings insurance covers the cost of repairing damage to the structure of a property. This includes the walls, windows and roof, as well as permanent fixtures and fittings, such as baths, toilets and fitted kitchens.

As a general rule of thumb, buildings insurance covers the cost of rebuilding your home from the ground up. This total is likely to differ from the market value of your house and often includes the cost of required services, like demolition, site clearance and architects’ fees.

What Does Buildings Insurance Cover?

Buildings insurance covers the cost to repair damage to the structure of your house. It covers fixtures and fittings, walls, windows, doors and the roof.

Generally, building insurance covers the cost of loss or damage caused by:

– Fire, smoke, explosions
– Flood, storms, natural disasters
– Fallen trees, lamp posts, aerials or satellite dishes
– Vandalism or malicious damage
– Subsidence
– Vehicle or aircraft collisions

Buildings insurance cover also tends to pay for the cost of a temporary place to stay if your home is unfit to live in due to a claim.

Usually, homeowners will combine buildings insurance with contents insurance to also ensure their belongings are protected from loss, theft or damage.

What Isn’t Covered by Buildings Insurance?

When purchasing building insurance, it’s important to note that there are some things it won’t cover, such as:

– Wear and tear – damage that happens slowly over time e.g. damp, condensation or rust
– Gates and fences – storm damage to gates, fences and hedges isn’t usually covered
– Insects, birds and pests – damage done by pests or getting them removed might not be covered

Do I Need Building Insurance?

Buildings insurance is often purchased by homeowners or those renting out a property that they own.

If you’re using a mortgage to purchase your property, your lender will likely state that you need buildings insurance cover in place from the date of exchange in order to get the mortgage.

However, even if you don’t have a mortgage, it is advised to take out a buildings insurance policy. You will need to weigh up the cost of purchasing building insurance against the cost of rebuilding your house if it was damaged or destroyed.

If you’re a tenant, renting a property, you won’t need buildings insurance as it will be up to your landlord to take out the policy. It would still be worth taking out contents insurance, though, to protect your belongings.

When Should I Get Building Insurance?

You should have buildings insurance in place at the point of exchanging contracts with the seller of the property.

However, contents insurance should be done prior to moving into your new house as this will cover your belongings if they get damaged or lost during the moving process.

Building Insurance: What Does it Cover?

Award-winning

Update your address

Take the hassle and stress out of your move and update your address with hundreds of companies

Zachary Roberts

“I used Slothmove for my move in the New Year. What an innovative idea! It’s extremely easy to use and it was really helpful in removing the stresses of relocating. Within about a week I had updated my address without having to lift a finger and I had a case of free beer in the meantime. Great service, would recommend to anybody.”