Frequently asked questions

Here's a selection of our most frequently asked home insurance questions:

What does my policy excess mean?

Q. What does my policy excess mean?

A. An excess is the amount you must pay as the first part of any claim.

How much do I need to insure my buildings and contents for?

Q. How much do I need to insure my buildings and contents for?

A. For buildings insurance, we offer a limit of cover of £1m. This is great peace of mind insurance cover as in most cases it takes away the risk of being under insured. You only pay for the home insurance cover you need and don't need to worry about providing us with an actual rebuilding value of your home. You only need to let us know if the rebuilding cost of your home is more than this amount.

For contents insurance, you can select the cover you require, which means we insure you for the actual amount of contents you have within your home. To work out the correct amount you should be insuring your contents for, think about how much it would cost to replace them all as new today, except for clothing and household linen where you can deduct an amount for wear and tear. To help you work out this figure we have produced a home contents estimator.

How do I cover any items I take away from the home?

Q. How do I cover any items I take away from the home?

A. You can add them to the personal possession section of your contents quote, which covers accidental loss or damage cover to any of your personal belongings (like jewellery items, cameras and golf clubs) anywhere in Europe and up to 60 days worldwide in any one period of insurance.

Our minimum cover is £2,500, with no single item worth more than £1,500. If you have a single item worth more than this amount, it needs to be specified on your policy, which can be done when you obtain a quote.

For contents, do you offer accidental damage cover?

Q. For contents, do you offer accidental damage cover?

A. Yes, we automatically offer basic accidental damage cover to home entertainment equipment, plus accidental breakage to mirrors and glass. You can also extend your cover to include accidental damage for other contents, to cover accidents like spilling a drink on a carpet.

What does accidental damage cover give on buildings and contents insurance?

Q. What does accidental damage cover give on buildings and contents insurance?

A. On buildings insurance we automatically offer basic accidental damage cover for cables, underground pipes and drains, plus breakage of fixed glass, like windows, and sanitary fittings. You can also extend your cover to include accidental damage for all of your buildings, to cover accidents like putting your foot through the ceiling.

On contents insurance we automatically offer basic accidental damage cover to home entertainment equipment, plus accidental breakage to mirrors and glass. You can also extend your cover to include accidental damage for other contents, to cover accidents like spilling a drink on a carpet.

For buildings insurance, do you offer accidental damage cover?

Q. For buildings insurance, do you offer accidental damage cover?

A. Yes, we automatically offer basic accidental damage cover for cables, underground pipes and drains, plus breakage of fixed glass, like windows, and sanitary fittings. You can also extend your cover to include accidental damage for all of your buildings, to cover accidents like putting your foot through the ceiling.

I have a spare room in my home set up as an office. Can you insure me for this?

Q. I have a spare room in my home set up as an office. Can you insure me for this?

A. Yes, our contents policy includes £5,000 cover for any office equipment you may have, like PCs, faxes and printers. This is providing the work you do in your office is just routine paperwork, phone calls and computer work, with no business callers. If you do more than just clerical work at home, please call us to see if we can offer you a quote.

What is buildings insurance?

Q. What is buildings insurance?

A. Buildings insurance covers loss or damage to the structure of your home and any outbuildings and private garages that belong to it. This means things like your roof, walls, windows and doors are covered. For full details of our buildings insurance cover, take a look at our policy wording.

What is contents insurance?

Q. What is contents insurance?

A. Contents insurance covers loss or damage to your household items in your home, generally these are the items you would take with you if you moved, such as beds, sofas, rugs and curtains. For full details of our contents insurance cover, take a look at our policy wording.