Insuring what you own your house and contents

Understanding what to Insure

Your home, household contents, and other belongings such as boats are expensive to buy. Many people can’t afford to repair or replace these things if they are damaged or destroyed.

By paying a fee called a ‘premium’ to an insurance company you get a promise in return that it will pay the costs related to incidents covered by the policy.

That can include damage to your car, house or boat, or the costs of repairing someone else’s car or other property that you have damaged accidentally.
Remember, you have a duty to tell the truth when you apply for insurance. If you leave important information out when applying for insurance your future claims may not be paid.

House insurance

Insuring your home protects it against the risk of fire or other damage. Most house insurance provides cover only up to the ‘sum insured’ – a capped amount that is the limit of what you can claim. You need to decide what your sum insured is – how much it would take to rebuild your home in the event of a disaster.
House insurance is usually required by your lender when you have a mortgage. Lenders Mortgage Insurance covers the bank if you can’t make the payments on your loan.

Contents insurance 

Contents insurance covers damage and loss of your belongings.It also provides some ‘third party’ cover if you damage someone else’s belongings in the house you are living in. So it’s a good idea if you are flatting or renting.