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Understanding Home Insurance

Simply put, home insurance protects you if something happens to your home or its contents. It's there to help you with the cost of repairing or replacing when you face damage or losses. Most policies offer you protection if your property has been hit by fires, storms, theft or floods.

Your Home Insurance Options

There are many different types of insurance. Mirror Switch and Save can help you find the perfect policy.

Building insurance

Buildings insurance is designed to cover the cost of repairing or rebuilding the physical structure of your home if it is damaged or destroyed by unforeseen events. While it is not a legal requirement in the UK, it is almost always compulsory if you have a mortgage, as lenders need to protect their financial stake in the property.

Contents insurance

Contents insurance covers the cost of replacing or repairing your personal belongings if they are damaged, destroyed, or stolen. Unlike buildings insurance, it is generally optional, but highly recommended for both homeowners and renters.

Combined buildings and contents insurance

This kind of policy combines the cover of both buildings and contents cover into one package. A big advantage of this route is that it's often more affordable than buying the policies separately, while also being easier to manage, with just one premium and renewal date.

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Why Home Insurance Matters

Legally, insuring your home is not necessary in the UK, but it is often required by your lender as part of your loan agreement if you have a mortgage. You are typically required to have cover in place from the moment you exchange contracts, as this is when you become legally responsible for the building. If you don't have it, you may be in breach of your mortgage agreement, which could lead to your lender defaulting your loan. You can adjust your insurance cover to meet your specific needs with the following policies.

Homeowners

This is the most common kind of insurance and the one you're likely to need if you've got a mortgage or own your property outright. When things go wrong, being responsible for an entire property and its contents can be costly. The average pay-out for a homeowner’s claim was £6,002 in 2024**, which reflects how much damage to your home can cost to fix. When this is compared to the average home insurance cost in the UK, which is currently £274, it becomes clear that not insuring our home may well be more expensive www.quotezone.co.uk

Tenant

Tenants insurance (often called Renters insurance) is a type of contents insurance specifically designed for people living in rented accommodation. While your landlord is responsible for insuring the building itself, their policy will not cover your personal belongings or your liability for accidents. If you're a renter, you may well want to protect valuable belongings like gadgets or jewelry from being damaged or stolen. A renters' insurance, or contents insurance for tenants, can provide this protection.

Landlord

Landlord insurance is a specialist type of cover designed for people who rent out a property they own to others. Unlike standard home insurance - which typically becomes invalid if the owner is not the primary resident - landlord insurance accounts for the unique risks of tenanted properties, such as legal disputes, loss of rent, and liability for tenant injuries.

Non-Standard property owners

Non-standard property owners' insurance is a specialist policy designed for buildings that mainstream insurers consider "higher risk" because they don't fit typical criteria. In the UK, a "standard" home is generally defined as being built of brick or stone with a pitched roof made of tile or slate. Anything that differs from this usually requires non-standard cover. Listed buildings, barn conversions, and prefabricated or modular homes often require specialist cover.

Building insurance for flat owners

This is another very common type of insurance. Buildings insurance for flat owners covers the physical structure of the building, including its walls, roof, floors, and communal areas. It is different from house insurance, where you typically arrange your own policy. Insurance for flats is usually handled at a building-wide level because damage to one flat (like a leak) often affects others.

Second Homeowners

If you own a holiday home or second home, you may be able to take out a second home policy. It’s also possible to get specialised coverage to protect your assets when letting out the property to others, or renting the property on platforms like Airbnb.

Students

Student home insurance, commonly known as student contents insurance, is a type of policy designed to protect your personal belongings (such as laptops, smartphones, clothes, and books) while you are living away at university.

Unoccupied Homes

Unoccupied home insurance is a specialist policy designed to protect a property when it is left empty for an extended period. This is typically longer than 30 to 60 consecutive days.

How much does it cost to protect your home?

The cost of home and contents insurance in the UK is primarily determined by the level of risk an insurer assigns to you and your property. This risk assessment is based on a combination of property characteristics, personal details, and external economic factors. This cost also varies depending on a number of different factors including where you live and the type of property you own. The reason why is that your location lets insurers know the risks your home faces in your specific area. Factors such as like local repair and labour costs, flood risks, crime rates and the overall number of claims for your region are all likely to impact costs.

The average cost of covering a UK home is £274, according to Quotezone data www.quotezone.co.uk

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What does home insurance actually cover?

Standard Inclusions:

While policies can vary, most cover damage or loss caused by:

Fire damage - Damage caused by home fires, smoke or explosion.

Theft - The replacement of your possessions if lost during a burglary.

Weather damage - Extreme-weather damage such as storms, flooding, hail, and lightning strikes.

Escape of water - Water leaking from burst pipes or appliances.

Malicious damage - Intentional damage to your home, like vandalism, as long as you or anyone staying with you did not cause it.

Subsidence, heave or landslip - Damage to your home caused by subsidence, heave or landslip.

Falling trees - Damage to your home, like broken fences or damaged roof tiles, caused by a tree falling.

General Exclusions:

Again, this can vary depending on your policy. Your policy details will always clearly outline exclusions, but it's important that you read it carefully before you sign up, so you know what you're in for. Common exclusions from home cover are:

General wear and tear - Damage caused by the general passing of time e.g. worn carpets or loose roof tiles.

Accidental damage - For instance, accidentally drilling through a pipe or spilling a glass of red wine on a rug.

Mechanical breakdown - Appliances such as fridges or washing machines expiring due to age.

Negligence - If not taking action to repair something leads to more damage. Like not fixing a cracked pipe or damp patch.

Poor workmanship - Damage that’s caused due to a low standard of building work or DIY, for example sub-par wiring led to a fire.

Empty properties - Unoccupied property cover may be needed as an add-on, as it poses a greater risk of damage or theft.

Loss away from home - Loss of items on your person while you're away from your home.

Ways to save on your home insurance policy

The bad news is that the average cost of insuring a home has risen by 60% in England alone over the past three years***. However, there are plenty of ways that you might be able to get your home insurance costs down. Here are some tips:

Choose your property carefully

It might seem obvious, but this is the big one. Choosing a property directly impacts your home insurance premiums because insurers use the home's characteristics to estimate the financial risk they are taking. The more likely a property is to suffer damage or theft, or the more expensive it would be to repair, the higher your premium will be. The most significant factor is the rebuild value, which is the cost of materials and labour to rebuild the property from scratch if it were destroyed.

Know the risks in your location

Where your home is will determine how much risk it poses to an insurer. An insurer can find out the crime rates and flood risks in your area. It is so important to do your research and know what warning signs to look out for when you are considering buying a home.

Choose your cover level

The more cover you go for, the more you will pay. You can add additional bits of coverage to your policy depending on how securely you want to be covered, but this can cause the costs to pile up.

Increase your excess

Another way to get costs down is to bump up the excess on your policy in order to reduce the premium. However, this will mean paying a bit more out of pocket each time you need to make a claim.

Pay annually

Providers will typically charge less if you fork out for your premium annually rather than monthly. The reason why is that you avoid the added interest that is applied when you pay monthly. When you pay your insurance monthly, you are in a kind of credit agreement with your insurer.

Maintain your home

A well-looked-after, well-maintained home may be less likely to develop risks that could leave you with a big bill.

Secure the property

Improving your home security can make you less of a risk to insure. Improving the security of your home could lead to reduced premiums on both contents and home policies. Insurers often offer lower prices to home owners who have taken measures like house alarms, installing security lights, and BSI (British Standards Association) approved locks.

Having no previous claims

A good no-claims history can get you cheaper home insurance policies when you start to compare quotes.

Compare quotes for home insurance

Although insurance providers consider similar factors when calculating your insurance cost, each uses its own pricing model that gives different importance to each factor. That’s comparing quotes is so important when you are looking for the cheapest quotes. Different insurers could also offer incentives like rewards or free gifts which you can benefit from.

What optional policy add-ons are available?

Accidental damage cover

Covers unexpected and accidental damage to your home or its contents. This can include damage caused by you or your family, such as breaking windows or cracking floor tiles.

Home emergency cover

Home emergency protection provides fast support with the cost of repairs that put the occupant’s health or safety at risk. This could include a broken heating system or burst pipes.

Alternative accommodation cover

Provides temporary accommodation if your home is not safe to stay in. Your policy will outline the events covered, which usually include fire, flooding or storm damage.

Bicycle Cover

This policy will protect your bicycle against theft or damage while it is stored at home. This option is also available whether you keep your bike in a shed or hallway.

Legal costs cover

Covers the cost of legal advice or help for disputes related to your property, such as a boundary dispute or noise complaint.

Personal possessions cover

Provides additional cover for valuables you take outside the home, such as jewellery, instruments or devices. These can also be insured separately under gadget insurance.

Outbuildings insurance

While garages attached to your property are usually covered by home insurance, some providers do not cover separate buildings. Outbuildings insurance helps cover these, as well as lockups outside your property.

Information required to get a quote

Getting a quote is easy via Mirror Switch and Save. You just need a few basic details and you're away. Once you've put all of those details in, you should have a selection of quotes in no time.

Basic details about the home

This includes what kind of property you have, for example a detached, two-bedroom house. It also covers the home’s history, including the main building materials, when it was built and whether it is a listed building. It is good to know about the home’s security features, such as the type of locks on the main external door and the alarm system.

Rebuild costs and contents value

It is important to get these correct because the values you provide will be the maximum figure paid out when making a claim. The quote form can help estimate the cost to rebuild the property based on the information you provide. However, it is always best to carry out your own research in order to get an accurate rebuild value and understand how much it would require to replace all the contents of your home.

Level of cover required

You can choose between contents insurance, buildings insurance, or a combined buildings and contents policy. You can insure specific items worth more than £1,000, as well as items you take outside of the home. You can also add optional cover, such as home appliance protection, and select the excess you want on the policy.

How to make a claim

While each home insurer has its own specific claim guidelines, the overall process remains the same.

Report the damage or loss to your insurer as soon as possible.

Your insurer will review the claim and may ask for proof of ownership, receipts, or repair estimates.

The insurer will either reject the claim or approve it for full or partial payment.

If another party is responsible for the damage, your insurer may seek to recover their costs from them.

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Home insurance FAQs

he average cost of covering a UK home is £274, according to Quotezone data. This is based on research across 100,000 policies looking at the average UK three-bedroom property www.quotezone.co.uk

This very much depends on where you live, what your home is like and what kind of cover you're after. For your home, the best insurance will be one that meets your needs and budget. An insurance comparison site may be able to help you find cheaper home coverage overall. 97% of users recommend Mirror Switch and Save's partner Quotezone for comparison insurance.

In recent years, costs have gone up primarily because claims have increased. Some of this is caused by more extreme weather in recent years. Another factor is the elevated costs for labour and materials repair and rebuild after damages has also made things more expensive. As a consequence, insurers have raised premiums to cover these costs.

Unlike other types of insurance, you can usually make a claim as soon as your home policy begins. Don’t confuse the policy start date with the date you starting paying for your insurance, as these can be different. Your insurer will let you know if there is an exclusion period on your policy.

This depends on what the cause of the leak was. It may be excluded if the issue is due to poor maintenance or general wear and tear. Otherwise, leaks are usually covered under building insurance because they affect the permanent structure of your home.

Yes, as long as they are your legal responsibility. This is typically the case when underground pipes are within your property boundary and serve only your home. There are some exceptions, but accidental damage to drains and sewage pipes is generally covered.

This is an external pipe that connects your property to the main water supply. Insurers typically cover these for accidental damage if they are your responsibility. You can also add water pipe insurance as an optional extra to your home policy.

Home emergency insurance provides fast assistance when urgent repairs are needed. It can cover issues with your heating system, electricity, water supply, pest infestations and roof leaks. This is a typical add-on for home insurance policies, as well as being available as a standalone product.

No, it is not a legal requirement. Building insurance is the responsibility of the property owner or landlord. However, this will not cover your personal belongings. Tenant insurance can protect your furniture, electronics and other possessions while you rent.

Finding the right home insurance policy is simple with Quotezone. Whether you are looking for cover for a period property or a home with a flat roof, you can compare quotes from up to 40 leading insurers. You can also find policies that cover major risks such as burglary, as well as more specialist options for self-builds, bedsits and probate properties. Landlords can look for tenant-related cover, while homeowners can explore options for new-builds, garages and flats. By comparing offers from multiple brokers and insurers, you can choose the cover that best suits your needs.