Robert Powell hits the streets to find out what you know about home insurance...
Robert Powell hits the streets to dispel these home insurance myths
The last couple of years have seen Britain battered by floods, roasted by soaring summer temperatures and frozen by snow storms.
These erratic weather conditions have pushed up home insurance rates – making it more important than ever to get a good deal as well as the right policy.
But how much do we really know about home insurance? I’ve hit the streets to find out...
Standard home insurance covers accidental damage
You usually have to pay extra for accidental damage insurance – most providers will bump up your standard premiums by around 20% if you want to add this cover to your policy.
Accidental damage is defined by most insurers as ‘damage that occurs suddenly as a result of an unexpected and non-deliberate action.’
This means it won’t cover general wear and tear or mechanical failure.
You should insure your home for its full market value
The amount of building insurance you take out should only cover the rebuild cost of your home.
This is because you only need to cover the costs of rebuilding the house from scratch if it is destroyed.
The rebuild cost of a property is usually far cheaper than its market value. That is unless you live in a period property or unusual type of home where the rebuild materials may be hard to come by and expensive to purchase.
My home insurance will cover all my valuables
Just because you have full contents insurance, that doesn’t mean that every individual item will be covered.
You may find some expensive items such as jewellery and computers are underinsured or excluded from the policy all together.
Most insurers set a single item limit of around £1,500 and may even specify certain items that are not covered at all. If this is the case you need to take out separate insurance for these items.
It’s also worth looking into single item insurance for wedding rings, mobile phones and other items you frequently have on you outside of your home.
Standard home insurance covers flood damage
Standard insurance policies will not cover flood damage - you’ll have to take out extra cover if you live in a flood-prone area.
However some providers won’t even insure properties that are particularly at risk from flooding.
Like most types of insurance policy, the devil really is in the detail when it comes to home cover. So it’s essential you read all of the terms and conditions fully when you take out any policy.
You can head over to lovemoney.com’s home insurance centre to compare policy prices and get the best deal.
More: Get a great home insurance deal | Protect your home against flooding | Don’t make this home insurance mistake