Buying a home or moving house

When you buy a house or move home you may need to consider the following:

Buildings Insurance – if you are buying a house you should insure it against eventualities such as fire, flood, impact, explosion, malicious damage, subsidence, etc. If you have a mortgage on the property your lender will insist that you insure the building, you should also note their name on the policy. Do not feel pressurised to insure your building with your mortgage provider, you can use any quality insurer. Remember, the value you insure your house for is the rebuild cost not the market price, this value can be found in your buildings survey. If you are buying a house your solicitor will normally advise you that you need buildings cover from exchange of contracts, this could be weeks before completion so be prepared. Do not forget to insure outbuildings, garden walls, garages, etc.

Contents Insurance – whether you own your home or are renting it you will need to protect your contents from theft, fire, flood, accidental damage, etc. When calculating how much cover you require we recommend you go from room to room and add up the replacement cost of your possessions. Do not forget to include cover for items in your garage, garden, etc. It is worth understanding that contents insurance usually only covers items within the home, therefore you need to extend your cover to include separate personal possessions insurance which will cover items you take out of the home such as jewellery, cameras, spectacles, bicycles, luggage, laptops, etc.

Cover for Possessions Being Moved – your existing contents insurance may cover items being moved to your new house, so it is worth checking. If not, then you can obtain specific cover for your possessions whilst they are being moved or in storage.

Vacant or Unoccupied Properties – if there will be a period of unoccupancy it is important that you have the correct insurance as a normal household insurance policy often has significant exclusions and limitations if your home is unoccupied or unfurnished. You will need to negotiate with your insurer or take specialist cover.

House Refurbishments or Extensions – Your household insurance company will need to know if you are making changes to your building, if you don’t tell them then your cover could be jeopardised. Extensions or major refurbishments may require Contract Works insurance, which will cover the works in progress, building materials, plant, site huts, etc.

Working From Home – if you work from home your household insurer will need to know as there may be restrictions. You will also need to insure your business. If your home is your business, such as a B&B, then you will need a special policy.

Act now! Call us on 01905 21681 to get your insurance needs met