Home Insurance Glossary of Terms

Term	Description
Accidental Damage	Damage to your goods or property as a result of an accident such as putting your foot through the ceiling or spilling paint across a carpet.
Amendment	A change to your policy.
Annual premium	The amount paid by the policy holder on an annual basis to cover the cost of the insurance policy.
Broker	An independent intermediary that arranges and sells insurance for different insurance companies.
Buildings insurance or Buildings cover	Buildings insurance covers the structure of the property. It includes any fixtures and fittings of your home such as fitted baths and kitchens.
Business equipment	Equipment such as computers, keyboards, printers, photocopiers located at your home office.
Cancellation	Ending your insurance policy. This could be by you or by your insurer.
Certificate of insurance	A certificate or document that insurance companies issue to verify that insurance is in force.
Claim	Any report of an incident in which the policy holder requests a payout or indemnity from the insurer under the conditions of the policy.
Claims history	How many claims you have made and what you have claimed for, which insurance companies will consider when deciding what to charge you for your insurance premium.
Combined cover	A term for when your buildings and contents are covered under the same policy.
Compulsory excess	A fixed amount set by the insurer and paid by you. It can't be changed and is paid together with a voluntary excess if you make a claim.
Contents Insurance or cover	Cover for household possessions. This can include furniture, kitchen equipment, clothing and frozen food and drink.
Damage	Loss or harm to a person or property.
Defaqto	Defaqto is an independent researcher of financial products. It supports consumers in making better financial decisions. Their star ratings process helps consumers identify where a product or proposition sits in the market place.
Depreciation	If you file an insurance claim, you may receive less from the insurance company than you were expecting. This is due to depreciation – a deduction for wear and tear of your possessions.
Duty of disclosure	If you make any changes which affect your insurance policy, you need to let your insurer know straight away. This can include changing address or name.
Escape of water excess	A specific excess that applies when making a claim for damage after escape of water.
Excess	This is an amount of money which you will pay when you make a claim.
Exclusions	Insurance companies won't pay out for certain risks or types of loss or damage. These will be clearly set out in your policy terms and conditions.
Family legal protection	An optional extra which helps with Legal disputes for you or your family.
Financial Conduct Authority	The UK's financial watchdog. They regulate financial services companies, including insurance companies.
FLEE or FLEA cover	These are basic forms of insurance used for unoccupied properties. Cover is to protect against fire, lightning, explosion and earthquake (FLEE), or fire, lightning, explosion and aircraft (FLEA).
Freezer cover	This protects you if you lose the contents of your freezer due to a power cut or breakdown.
Garden cover	Some policies include cover for items in the garden. These can include fences, hedges, patios, trees and plants.
Good state of repair	A property that doesn't have structural problems such as dry rot, damp or faulty wiring.
Heave	The upward movement of the ground supporting your property. The removal of large trees can often cause this.
High risk items	Items that are most often stolen from homes when burgled. These could be antiques, jewellery, laptops and audio & visual equipment.
Home emergency cover	Cover that provides a 24h call out service for emergency repairs on your property. It includes callouts for problems with plumbing, internal electrics, pest control, drains, gas supply, boiler & heating and security.
Home entertainment equipment	Computer equipment, television sets, games consoles and audio equipment in your home.
Home/property	The private dwelling you live in (including any garages and outbuildings).
Insurance Premium Tax	A government tax which is included in the price of your insurance.
Insurer	A person or company that insures something or someone against loss or damage.
Joint proposer	If there are two people wanting to insure a property or contents, such as a husband and wife.
Key care or key cover	An optional extra that covers lost and stolen keys.
Landslip	When the ground around your property slides downwards. Often caused by too much rain causing soil or rock slip.
Listed building	A building of historical or architectural interest. It can only be changed if agreed by the Department of the Environment.
Locks	A mechanism used to secure windows and doors. The type and number of locks on your property may affect your policy.
Material fact	Any information which might influence an insurer's decision to offer you cover or the price they charge for it. You need to tell your insurer all the relevant facts. They will base their decision on this information. Without all the relevant facts your policy may not be valid.
New for old	New for old policies mean that no deduction is made for wear and tear. A full replacement is made for items lost, stolen or damaged.
No claims bonus/discount	A reward for people who don't make a claim on their policy. The discount is applied at renewal or when a new policy is bought.
Non-specified items	Non-specific items are not described on the insurance certificate. It is the policyholder's responsibility to ensure the sum placed against the total of non-specific items is sufficient.
Optional Extras	Additional cover which can be bought to run alongside the main policy.
Period of cover	The time covered by the policy as shown in the policy schedule.
Personal possessions	Cover that protects your personal possessions. Cover can be provided for items valued individually at less than £1500, in and away from the home.
Policyholder	Name of the person responsible for the insurance policy. Their name will appear on the Schedule of Insurance.
Premises	The household which is covered under the policy. This will be listed in the policy schedule.
Premium	The amount you pay to insure your property
Quote	The price and terms offered by an insurance company to insure your property for the cover you need.
Rebuilding cost	The amount it would cost to rebuild your home. This does not include the cost of land. The cost to rebuild the property will not be the same as the market value.
Renewal	The point at which you are invited to renew your insurance policy for another year. The policy renewal date will be included in the policy schedule.
Risk	This is the method by which insurance underwriters decide how likely you are to make a claim and how costly this claim is likely to be. This allows the underwriters to calculate what price you should pay.
Sanitary fittings	Washbasins and pedestals, bathroom and kitchen sinks, lavatory pans and cisterns, shower trays and shower screen, baths and bath panels. Does not include swimming pools.
Schedule	The document which names the policyholder and sets out details of the cover.
Single article limit (SAL)	This is the maximum payment for any one article under a section of a policy. Items over this value need to be disclosed to the insurer so that an appropriate rate can be calculated.
Specified items	Items named specifically on your policy. They will normally exceed the value of the specified amount shown in your schedule.
Subsidence	The downward movement of the ground on which a house stands. This happens when the soil beneath the buildings foundations is unstable and unable to support it. The movement is unconnected with the weight of the building.
Subsidence excess	A specific excess applied to claims arising from subsidence.
Sum insured	The amount for which you are covered under your policy.
Tenure	A persons relationship to their home. For example, if you own and live in your house, your tenure is owner occupier.
Trace and access	Can cover the cost of removing and replacing any part of your home to locate the source of escaping water.
Underinsurance	When the sum insured on the insured property isn't enough to cover the cost of replacing all your contents, or the rebuild cost of your property.
Underwriter	The company or person providing the insurance cover under your policy.
Uninsured losses	Uninsured losses are items of expense which aren't covered by your insurance policy.
Unoccupied	Not lived in by you or any person with your permission.
Valuables	High value items such as jewellery, works of art and antiques.
Voluntary excess	This is the amount you can choose to pay towards a claim, alongside any compulsory excess on your policy.
Year built	The year the property being insured was built.