Home insurance

Buildings insurance covers the cost of repairing any damage to the structure of your property e.g. walls, roof and windows. It can also often include permanent fixtures such as fitted kitchen units and bathroom suites. Buildings insurance is usually a compulsory condition if you are the owner of the property and have a mortgage, but you don’t have to take it out with your mortgage lender.

Contents insurance protects against the cost of replacing or repairing damaged, destroyed or stolen items inside your home, such as your furniture, jewellery, appliances and clothes. Essentially any items that would fall out of your house if you turned it upside down. If you’re a tenant in a property, you may want to look at contents insurance to make sure your personal possessions are covered if you suffer a loss.

Yes. You can log in to your online account any time to make changes to your policy or view your documents.

Just so you’re aware, here are our fees and charges for amendments:

Change made online yourself: £15.00

Change made via the call centre: £25.00

Policy cancellations cannot be made online.

To get a home insurance quote you'll need to share some basic personal details, including full name and date of birth and of course, details about the property that needs to be insured. As well as address and postcode, you should expect to supply information about the size and age of the property, the type of property – flat, bungalow, semi-detached, detached or terrace house, for example – and what level of security the house has, such as a house alarm and lock type.

You will also need to provide details of any claims made or losses by anyone living at the property in the past 5 years, whether they were insured or not.

To discuss a home insurance claim or to make a claim on an optional extra you purchased, please find the relevant contact details on the existing customer page. 

To process the claim, we’ll need to understand what happened and when, plus what you’re claiming for. You may be required to provide photographs or receipts for items that are lost or damaged. 

Yes, we’re here to help. If you think you may be unable to maintain your regular policy payments, please contact us as soon as possible to discuss.

We have specialists on hand who can discuss your individual circumstances and agree how we can help with your financial situation. There are several ways we may be able to help including; moving your payment dates, agreeing partial payments or payment holidays in the short term and removing any fees applied to your policy.

Don’t wait until you miss a payment as we can help you in advance. We ask that you don’t cancel your payments or direct debits as this can result in your policy being cancelled and we don’t want you to be left uninsured, please get in touch with us in the first instance.

You must contact us if your work involves:

If any of the above situations apply to you, please get in touch with us as we may need to update your cover. You don’t need to contact us if you’re a clerical/office worker who’s based at home. In the event of a claim involving administrative business equipment (e.g. laptops) provided by your employer to support this activity, please seek advice from your employer as any loss or damage should be covered by them.

Before you get home insurance, you need to know what is covered and what you must do. Your needs depend on your living situation. Here are the basic rules:

Check with your insurer to be sure you have the right cover.

You can still get home insurance if your home is at risk of flooding, but it may cost more or have some limits. Most home insurance policies don't cover certain types of flood damage, such as:

These are common exclusions, but it's always best to check with your insurer.

Some companies specialise in flood insurance, and programs like Flood Re can help make it more affordable. Installing flood defences, such as barriers or pumps, may also lower your costs.

Home insurers ask about your door locks because some are more secure than others. To help identify your door locks, you can compare them to these common types:

These locks are often required to meet British Standards:

Look for a British Standard kitemark on your lock or ask a locksmith if you’re unsure. Secure locks can lower the risk of burglary, so insurers may charge you less.

Q. How much buildings cover do I need?

RAC will cover your home for the rebuild value as you won’t have to buy the land again, so the cost of rebuilding is usually lower than its overall value. This should include the cost of any fittings such as bathroom and kitchen units, the Association of British Insurers have a free calculator that allows you to login in and answer questions based on house size and number of rooms to provide a good estimate.

Q. What isn’t covered by buildings insurance?

While we aim to make our buildings insurance as comprehensive as possible there are a number of aspects that are not covered within the policy, such as:

You will also not be covered if you have caused the damage yourself – such as DIY disasters – unless you add accidental damage cover to your policy.

Q. What cover do I need as a landlord?

Although we can’t offer cover for damage caused by tenants, as the owner of a property you may still want to protect your property against fire, theft or flood damage with a buildings insurance policy. It is your tenant’s responsibility to buy contents cover to protect anything they may bring to the property.

Q. Does buildings insurance apply to me if I rent?

Your landlord will be responsible for the maintenance of the building, as well as ensuring the property is properly protected with buildings insurance cover.

As a tenant, you’re responsible for any contents inside the property that you own. If anything were to happen to your possessions, you would be liable for the cost of replacing them if you didn't have a contents insurance policy. If you rented a furnished property, it is also the landlord’s responsibility to ensure his furniture is insured adequately.

Q. How much contents cover do I need?

It’s important you don’t underestimate the value of your contents, as in the event of a total loss, you would be expected to pick up the shortfall. When valuing your home contents, be sure to consider the cost of replacing carpets and soft furnishings as well as clothing, electrical equipment and furniture. Insurers have the right to reduce any settlement proportionately. For example, if you insure your property or possessions for half the value, the insurer may only pay half the claim

Go round each room separately – including your shed and outbuildings – making a list of all the items in there and estimating how much they’d cost to replace. Take note of any risk items, which usually includes desirable items that could be easily removed from the property, such as mobile phones, laptops and jewellery. You can find some further information on our how to value your home contents guide, including a contents calculator.

Q. What is new for old cover?

Our contents policies provide cover for your possessions on a ‘new for old’ basis. This means that if you make a claim, we will pay the cost of replacing an item with its new equivalent. So, if you’re claiming for the theft of a television that’s now only worth £100 second hand, your replacement will be a brand new model of similar quality.