UK House Insurance - What Policy To Choose

Your first aim should be to give consideration to your requirements.

As a starting point let's consider

Do you tend to have more than your fair share of accidents
What sort of house or flat do you live in and do you have a lot of valuable items or just typical fittings and furnishings
Maybe you just need to insure the contents of the building
Are you the owner of the buildings
Do you live in a flat or a bed sit
Do you have children

Bear in mind that you have to choose (for both buildings and contents) if you need, and want to pay for, accidental damage cover or if you can live with just the normal risks. Considering questions like these will help you decide.

These days, most online insurers calculate their building valuations based on the type of building and number of bedrooms together with your post code. You are then invited to increase this value if your house is particularly well preserved or if it has many added features. You should remember that this estimate is for the cost of rebuilding the house, it does not include the cost of the land that the house is built on.

When considering the contents there are two options. You could compile a list of everything you have and note beside it the cost of replacement (you want 'new for old' cover don't you). If that sounds like an overwhelming task then you might consider a 'bedroom rated' policy i.e. the number of bedrooms in the property is used to determine the level of contents valuation. It would save all that work but you would be very likely to be paying out a higher premium for higher sums insured than you need to.

Thirdly, you must think about all those special and valuable items that you own. If you have any valuable jewellery, antiques or works of art, I strongly recommend that you have them listed as specified items on your policy. This will cost a little extra but it is worth the additional cost. Before doing so, get each piece professionally valued (and if jewellery, gem checked) and get each piece photographed. Similarly with laptop computers,bicycles, PDA's, expensive camcorders and so on. Indeed, anything of value that you are likely to take outside the house.

Next, I recommend you take out cover for unspecified items away from the home. This option should also offer insurance to cover accidental damage for these items within the home. The only people that do not require this cover are those that never go outside their front door! It will also cover you for your basic luggage whilst on holiday thus providing savings on your travel insurance. And what's more,the cover is better! (Travel insurance providers always pays indemnity - i.e. item value minus wear and tear. Your unspecified items cover, if you follow my advice, is 'new for old' - except clothes).

Fifth - liability cover. This is a must have. It is always provided free with your other cover. Make sure you have it on contents plus buildings if you are the owner. If you do not own buildings, then the liability cover on your contents policy is perfect on its own. It's a bit like having 'third party' cover on your car (although not compulsory by law).

Finally, there are the 'freebies' that many insurers now provide. Services such as free legal help lines and emergency assistance providers. My personal experiences of this type of service is not that favourable. I usually end up getting out the 'Yellow Pages'.

Now all that's required is to buy the policy that you want. Chose an insurance company that has a good reputation, even if the policy is slightly more expensive. (All of the insurers featured on our site have a good reputation !)..and of course they offer superb value for money.