Buildings Cover topics

No. It isn’t standard, but you can bolt it on to protect against accidental damage you or your family cause. What can it cover? Buildings: the fabric of your home. Contents: everything inside. You can choose to add it to either, or both. Adding Accidental Damage Cover to Your Policy: Simply click Manage My Policy. Enter your details and follow the steps. Alternatively, you can do so via live chat. Note: Do have your policy number to hand.

Accidental damage cover is a protective feature for your contents, specifically designed to address instances where you or your family inadvertently damage possessions. Common scenarios include accidental spills like wine on a sofa or unintentional incidents like knocking over and breaking ornaments. Ideal for Family Homes This coverage proves particularly beneficial in households with children, where accidental mishaps are more likely. It acts as a financial safety net, ensuring that your belongings are safeguarded even in the face of unexpected accidents within the home. Scope and Limitations It’s important to note that accidental damage cover has its limitations. While it covers damages caused by family members, it typically excludes damage inflicted by pets, such as biting, scratching, or chewing. Additionally, coverage may not apply during periods when the property is let, unoccupied, or unfurnished. Business Exclusions Goods used for business purposes are also generally excluded. It’s essential to be aware of these exclusions to understand the scope of protection provided by this type of insurance. Tailoring Coverage to Your Needs Homeowners can often customise their policies to include or exclude accidental damage based on their individual needs and circumstances. This flexibility allows for a tailored approach to insurance, aligning with the specific risks and lifestyle considerations of each household. Summary By delving into the specifics of accidental damage cover, homeowners can make informed decisions about their insurance coverage, ensuring that their belongings are adequately protected against a range of unexpected incidents.

Comprehensive Outbuilding Coverage In general, yes! Moreover, Intelligent Insurance values your outbuildings and includes them in the quote process. Standard coverage extends up to £30,000 for each outbuilding, ensuring protection for these auxiliary spaces. Tailored Building Insurance Furthermore, for those requiring additional coverage, Intelligent Insurance offers the flexibility to extend building insurance beyond the standard limit. This allows homeowners to customise their coverage according to the value and usage of their outbuildings. Policy Date Considerations For policies purchased before 01/12/2018, note that coverage for each outbuilding is up to £10,000. It’s essential to be aware of the specifics related to your policy date to ensure accurate information during the quote process. Information Required To provide the best coverage, Intelligent Insurance will inquire about the type of outbuilding structure, its construction, and its usage. This detailed information allows for a precise assessment of your outbuilding insurance needs. Defining Outbuildings Understanding that an outbuilding is a structure separate from the main home, used for domestic purposes, is crucial. However, this definition excludes certain structures, such as those open on one or more sides, those lacking a permanent foundation, treehouses, inflatable buildings, or structures made from non-rigid materials. Summary By delving into these specifics, Intelligent Insurance aims to offer tailored coverage, ensuring that your unique outbuilding requirements are met with precision and care.

Understanding Outbuildings Outbuildings are auxiliary structures on your property like sheds, garages, workshops, and summerhouses. They serve various purposes, from storage and vehicle protection to spaces for hobbies and relaxation. Key Functions: Sheds: Store garden tools and outdoor equipment. Garages: Protect vehicles from weather and theft. Workshops: Space for DIY projects and hobbies. Summerhouses/Greenhouses: Relaxation or plant cultivation areas. Insurance Considerations The function and contents of these structures dictate their insurance needs. Tailored coverage is crucial to protect against damages or losses, ensuring both the outbuilding and its contents are safeguarded. Summary Selecting and insuring outbuildings wisely enhances your property’s value and utility, protecting your investment in the long run.

Buildings insurance – Comprehensive Protection Buildings insurance is a fundamental component of home insurance, providing essential coverage to homeowners. It serves as a financial safeguard against the potential costs associated with repairing or rebuilding a home that has suffered damage or destruction due to various unforeseen events. Covered Elements Moreover, this type of insurance extends coverage to the structural components of your home, encompassing the roof, walls, and windows. Additionally, this type of insurance includes protection for permanent fixtures and fittings within the property. This can range from fitted kitchen units to bathroom suites, ensuring that integral elements of your home are covered in the event of damage. Shielding Your Home The primary purpose of buildings insurance is to shield homeowners from the financial burden of repairing or reconstructing their homes. Whether it’s damage caused by natural disasters, accidents, or other covered events, buildings insurance steps in to alleviate the costs associated with restoring the structure to its pre-damaged state. Financial Security Investing in buildings insurance, therefore, provides homeowners with peace of mind, knowing that their most significant investment—their home—is protected against unexpected challenges. This type of coverage is particularly crucial for individuals who have mortgages, as lenders often require insurance to mitigate their risk. Summary By understanding the purpose of buildings insurance, homeowners can make informed decisions about their insurance needs, ensuring comprehensive protection for their homes.

Key points: There’s no UK law that makes buildings insurance compulsory. Most mortgage lenders insist on cover from exchange of contracts. Outright owners can skip it, but would face the full rebuild cost if disaster strikes. Leasehold flats are usually covered by a block policy arranged by the freeholder or management company. Buildings cover protects you from potentially six‑figure repair bills. Not by law. However, most mortgage lenders require you to have buildings insurance in place from exchange of contracts to protect their loan. Cash‑buyers & outright owners: you’re free to go uninsured, but you’d have to fund any rebuild costs yourself. Leasehold flats: your freeholder or management company will normally arrange a block policy and recharge you. For details of what a policy typically includes, see our guide What does buildings insurance cover?. In short, while not legally mandatory, buildings insurance is strongly recommended to avoid potentially six‑figure repair bills.

Rental Insurance Overview If you’re renting a property, the responsibility for insuring the structure of the building typically falls on the landlord. As a tenant, you are generally not required to obtain building insurance for the actual structure of the property. Personal Contents Coverage Your focus as a renter should be on protecting your own belongings within the rented space. While the structure is the landlord’s concern, it’s crucial for tenants to consider contents insurance. This coverage safeguards your personal possessions, including furniture, electronics, and valuables, against risks like theft, fire, or other covered events. Landlord’s Responsibility The landlord’s insurance, known as landlord insurance or buildings insurance, is designed to cover the structure itself. This includes protection for the building’s foundation, walls, roof, floors, doors, and windows. It is the landlord’s responsibility to secure this coverage to handle potential structural damage or repairs. Peace of Mind for Tenants Understanding the division of insurance responsibilities between landlords and tenants is essential for renting with peace of mind. While your landlord ensures the building’s structural protection, you can focus on safeguarding your personal possessions with contents insurance tailored to your needs. Clarifying Responsibilities Ensuring clarity on insurance responsibilities at the beginning of a tenancy helps both landlords and tenants fulfil their respective obligations. It’s advisable for tenants to communicate with their landlords to confirm the property’s insurance coverage and, if needed, obtain contents insurance for their personal items. Summary By understanding the insurance dynamics in a rental arrangement, tenants can make informed decisions to secure the appropriate coverage for their specific needs, ensuring a well-rounded approach to protecting their living space.

Buildings insurance vs home insurance Cover type What it protects Typical claims Buildings insurance The fabric of your home: walls, roof, floors, foundations, permanent fixtures Fire, flood, storm, subsidence, structural collapse Home insurance(buildings + contents) Everything above plus what you keep inside – furniture, electronics, valuables The above plus theft, accidental damage, leaks to belongings, etc. Key points Buildings insurance is a subset of home insurance: it covers only the structure. Home insurance wraps buildings and contents into one policy for all-round protection. Most mortgage lenders insist on buildings cover; contents cover is optional but strongly advised. Choose buildings insurance if you only need to protect the shell; opt for full home insurance to cover the shell and your belongings.

Key points: Market value is the price your home would fetch if you sold it today, it’s driven by land value, location, demand and overall condition. Rebuild cost is what it would cost to demolish what’s left, clear the site and rebuild the property to the same specification. Rebuild cost usually sits below the market value (though it can exceed it for listed or remote properties). Insurers base buildings cover on the rebuild cost, not the market value, get this wrong and you risk being under‑insured. Market value explained The market value is the figure a buyer is willing to pay on the open market at a given point in time. Land value, local amenities, school catchments and supply‑and‑demand trends all feed into it. Rebuild (reinstatement) cost explained Rebuild cost includes: Demolition and debris removal Site clearance and preparation Materials and labour to rebuild the structure like‑for‑like Professional fees for architects, surveyors and building regs approval Because it looks purely at reconstruction, it ignores land value and broader market sentiment. Why the difference matters for insurance Buildings insurance pays out on the rebuild cost, so that’s the figure to insure for. Over‑insuring wastes premium; under‑insuring could leave you thousands short in a claim. Use the free RICS BCIS rebuild calculator or commission a chartered surveyor if you’re unsure. Need more detail? See How do I work out my rebuild cost?.

Intelligent Insurance policies offer building cover for the following: Fire Riot, civil commotion and labour or political disturbances and strikes Malicious damage Impact from aircraft (or other flying devices), or anything dropped from them, vehicles or trains, falling aerials or masts, falling trees or branches, animals Storm, flood or weight of snow Subsidence or ground heave of the site the buildings stand on, or landslip Escape of water from or freezing in any fixed domestic water or drainage installation, heating installation, washing machine, dishwasher, fridge, freezer or water bed Theft or attempted theft Escape of oil from a fixed, domestic, oil-fired heating system

Wear and tear allowance is not covered in your insurance policy. This is because you are responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of your property.

Determining the rebuild value (not resale) of your home is crucial for setting the right level of buildings insurance. Here are two reliable methods to assess this value: ABI’s Rebuild Calculator Guide Price: An accessible option is to use the Association of British Insurers (ABI) rebuild calculator. This online tool provides a guide price based on various factors, including the size and type of your property. Ease of Use The ABI’s rebuild calculator is user-friendly, allowing you to input essential details and receive an estimated rebuild value promptly. Limitations While this provides a useful starting point, it’s important to note that it offers a general estimation and may not account for specific features or materials in your home. Professional Surveyor Accurate Calculation For a more precise and tailored assessment, consider hiring a professional surveyor. Surveyors have the expertise to evaluate the specific characteristics of your property, including construction materials, unique features, and overall condition. Site Visit A surveyor typically conducts a site visit to thoroughly assess your home, taking into account factors that may not be covered by online calculators. Detailed Report Upon completion, the surveyor provides a detailed report outlining the rebuild value of your home. This report can be invaluable for obtaining accurate and comprehensive insurance coverage. Why Rebuild Value Matters Understanding the rebuild value is essential because it represents the cost of rebuilding your home from scratch in the event of a total loss, such as fire or structural damage. It ensures that your insurance coverage adequately reflects the cost of reconstruction, preventing underinsurance. Choosing the Right Method Deciding between the ABI’s rebuild calculator and a professional surveyor depends on your preferences, the complexity of your property, and the level of accuracy you seek. While the calculator offers convenience, a surveyor provides a more detailed and personalised assessment. Summary By using these methods to determine the rebuild value, you can make informed decisions about your buildings insurance coverage, ensuring that you have adequate protection in place.