Home insurance exclusions: how lodgers, storms and dodgy DIY can invalidate your cover

Home insurance is essential, but insurers can be a bit crafty when it comes to exclusions. Before you pay for a policy, check out the things they might not pay out for.

If you think your home insurance will cover every mishap or disaster that happens in your home, think again.

Insurers all have exclusions – or events that aren’t covered – written into their buildings and contents policies. Some are fairly obvious, others not so much.

We take a look at what you’re probably not covered for.

1. Botched DIY

If you had a DIY disaster over the Bank Holiday last month then bad luck, your insurance probably won’t cover it.

Most policies exclude botched DIY such as banging a nail into a pipe or putting your foot through the loft floor.

So when you embark on a DIY project, either make sure you know what you’re doing or get a professional in.

Likewise insurers won’t pay for repairs if they are necessary due to poor maintenance. So if you never clean your gutters and they clog up and crack, you won’t be insured.

2. Digital files

If someone broke into your home and stole your laptop or MP3 player you’d be covered for the gadget, but what about the files?

These days, people tend to digitally store their entire music collection as well as photos, videos, fitness records and other data. Insurers differ about how they treat the loss of digital files.

Some won’t cover them at all but others provide cover up to set limits. For example, Allianz will cover up to £1,000 worth of files that have been legally downloaded, while More Than offers £2,500 of cover.

However, accidentally download something that contains a virus that wreaks havoc on your computer and you’re on your own as home insurers generally don’t cover loss or corruption due to software viruses.

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3. Tenants and lodgers

If you rent your entire property to tenants you won’t be covered by your usual home insurance, you will need landlord insurance instead.

But the situation is less clear cut if you use the Rent A Room scheme to let a room to a lodger.

I’ve just started renting out my spare room so I rang my insurer to let it know. It turns out I’m not covered for anything my lodger breaks or steals. And if we’re burgled, then my insurance won’t cover her possessions – she needs to arrange her own cover.

Most insurers, but not all, won’t cover guests from Airbnb or other home-sharing sites. One exception to the rule is Admiral, which has started offering Airbnb cover as an optional add-on.

4. Unoccupied properties

If you’re planning a long holiday, double check if your home will be covered while you’re away. Most insurers set a limit of 30 days during which a property can be left unoccupied.

However, if you shop around you’ll find some companies will cover an empty property for 60 or even 90 days.

If you go away during winter think very carefully about switching the heating off completely. While it might reduce your energy bill, it could invalidate your insurance.

NatWest, for example, won’t cover losses due to frozen or burst pipes in unoccupied homes unless the heating is maintained at a minimum of 10 degrees centigrade.

Read our guide on How to protect your water pipes for more.

5. Wars, terrorism and big bangs

OK, this is obviously less likely than the others on this list, but still worth mentioning: most insurance companies don’t cover war, invasion, revolution or terrorism as standard.

However, your building could be covered if you live in a flat. Freeholders and their managing agents are obliged to organise the insurance for blocks of flats and these commercial policies often include terrorism cover.

Hopefully we won’t see a repeat of the riots that hit the country in the summer of 2011, but if we do then most home insurance policies would cover damage, fire and looting.

One thing that is never covered is a “sonic bang”. Sonic bangs are caused by pressure waves when an aircraft or other flying object travels at or above the speed of sound.

6. Locks and alarms

When you take out a home insurance policy the insurer will ask you about the locks and alarms fitted to your home.

Make sure you know exactly what you have and describe it accurately. If you are later burgled and the insurers discovers you didn’t have the type of lock you said you did, it could invalidate your claim.

And it might sound obvious but use the locks and alarms. Leaving your property unsecured, or any other type of negligence, could mean your insurer turns down a claim.

7. Storm damage

Buildings insurance policies generally cover financial loss caused by storm damage. However the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) says it receives cases where the policyholder and insurer disagree about what actually constitutes a storm.

Some insurers will claim wind speeds were not strong enough to be classed as a “storm” and then refuse to pay out despite damage to property.

Whatever the wind speed, garden gates and fences are usually excluded from storm damage cover.

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