Understanding the different types of home insurance can be a minefield for anyone starting out. Even those with policies for decades may not have found the best deal for their needs. Given that we all live in different-sized dwellings and have different possessions, it’s worth finding a premium that’s wholly tailored to personal circumstances and will offer peace of mind.
Contents
● The Different Types of Home Insurance
● Other Names for Home Insurance Types
● Who Needs Home Insurance?
● Additional Coverage in Home Insurance
The Different Types of Home Insurance
Various types of coverage are available, and it’s critical to understand which policy type best suits your needs.
- Buildings Insurance
Buildings insurance covers your house and usually any outbuildings you have on top. This type of home insurance will pay for any required repair or rebuilding of your home. It also covers accidental damage to any fitted furnishings within your home, such as a kitchen or bathroom and even roofing if required.
Those who are renting are unlikely to need building insurance. This is normally the homeowner’s responsibility, with tenants paying for contents insurance to cover their personal belongings.
- Contents Insurance
Contents insurance covers your personal belongings, from your precious vinyl records to your sofa, chairs, and carpets. Most standard policies will even include mobile phone protection and protection against events such as fire, accidents, and theft. The amount you need to insure your contents for should be akin to the value of all possessions belonging to your household.
If you insure for an inaccurate figure, you’ll either pay too much for your policy or have insufficient cover. Also worth noting is that some premium items – such as artwork and jewellery – may require an additional premium. And don’t forget to contact your insurance and update your policy limits whenever you purchase any new items. A survey showed that about 54% of the respondents have never updated their sums insured, meaning their contents may not be fully covered.
- Personal Liability Insurance
Personal liability insurance covers you for third-party bodily injury and/or third-party damage to neighbouring properties. For example, let’s say a roof tile is blown off your house into your neighbour’s garden, hitting them on the head before breaking a shed window. Personal liability coverage would cover the extra costs of any required hospital treatment and damage to your neighbour’s property.
Other Names for Home Insurance Types
Buildings, contents, and personal liability coverage are the different types of home insurance available. However you might come across other terms while shopping around. All of the following are intended for specific circumstances, but they’re ultimately just names. You must look beyond the moniker; they’ll fit under either building or contents cover.
- Tenant Insurance
Tenant or renters insurance is naturally aimed at people renting a property. Their landlords will pay for building insurance, so tenant/renters insurance will cover possessions only. If you rent a newly renovated home, check if you have insurance for damage to furniture or carpets. These are usually included in a contents insurance policy but may differ in a tenant-landlord situation.
- Listed Buildings
Those who have purchased a listed building or place of historical interest will need building insurance like anyone else. Some insurance companies offer specific insurance for such an eventuality. However, in essence, it’s merely building insurance coverage, only at a higher premium. Structural repairs to old properties often have to be performed differently and at greater expense than modern fixes, and so any premium would need to reflect this.
- Novelty Homes
A novelty home would include any building which goes against standard shapes and materials. For example, Simon Dale’s hobbit house in Wales was largely constructed using oak wood, stones, and mud.
Should it ever be repaired or rebuilt, such a house would go against standardised costs. So, an insurance policy would need a specific calculation. That said, even a novelty home’s insurance would come under the ‘buildings’ variety.
- Expensive Homes
It’s fair to say that all homes are expensive, although some homes are more expensive than others! You might see specific insurance policies out there for properties that come with a high price tag. However, they’re ultimately just buildings and/or contents insurance policies, only with high upper coverage limits.
If you have a desirable house or valuable possessions, inform your insurance company. This will enable them to provide the appropriate level of protection in case of any unfortunate incidents.
Who Needs Home Insurance?
Buildings insurance is required for those who own a property and is a condition of a mortgage. You can either find your own provider or your lender will likely recommend an insurer. When purchasing a home and exchanging the contracts, you should take out building insurance and keep your policy in place throughout your ownership.
Those who do not have a mortgage, for example, tenants, do not have to take out a building insurance policy. This is because landlords will usually cover the additional costs of building insurance.
As a tenant, your landlord usually covers all of the insurance needs for a property. Still, you may be liable for damage or loss to property, including existing furniture or fixings – contents insurance should cover this.
As a leaseholder, your lease may require building insurance with a named provider, or the freeholder may take out a policy and subsequently charge you for it.
Additional Coverage in Home Insurance
At GasanMamo, we keep things simple. Our home insurance policies cover your buildings and contents and any personal liability. You must advise us of your circumstances so the correct level of coverage can be ascertained when arranging a policy that suits your needs. Our insurance suits everyone, whether you own a property, rent one, or live in a traditional house.
GasanMamo’s home insurance covers buildings, contents, liability, personal accidents, and business contents for those who work from home. Those needing to insure high-value personal items like artwork can take out extra protection. To learn more about our specific policies, take a glance through our Home Insurance FAQs.
Conclusion
Understanding the different types of home insurance is vital for anyone looking to take out a policy. Given the potential expenses involved, it’s all too easy to pay more than you need to, leaving you out of pocket every month. Pay too little, and you could miss out if you have to make a claim.
Begin your own search for the right plan by looking through our clear and transparent benefits on our home insurance page.
GasanMamo Insurance is authorised under the Insurance Business Act and regulated by the MFSA.