Home Insurance

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What is 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 replacing or repairing damage or losses. Most policies offer you protection if your property has been hit by fires, storms, theft or floods.

Types of insurance for your home

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

Buildings and contents insurance combines the cover of both buildings and contents policies into one package. A big advantage of this route is that it's often cheaper than buying the policies separately and can be easier to manage with only one premium and renewal date.

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Do I need home insurance?

Although insuring your home is not necessary under UK law, it is often required 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 tailor your insurance 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.
Being responsible for an entire property and its contents can be costly when things go wrong. The average payout for a homeowner’s claim was £6,002 in 2024**, which reflects how much damage to your home can cost to fix. Comparing this to the average home insurance cost in the UK, which is currently £274, it’s clear that not insuring our home could be more expensive in the long run.

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 stolen or damaged with renters' insurance, or contents insurance for tenants.

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.

Second homeowners

If you own a second home or holiday home, you can take out a second home policy. Specialised coverage can also provide cover for letting out the property to others, or renting the property on 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.

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.

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.

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.

What is and isn’t covered by home insurance?

What is covered?

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

Fire damage
Storms and flooding
Subsidence, landslips, or heave
Falling trees and branches
Theft and malicious damage
Leaking water tanks and pipes
Oil leaks from heating systems
Impact from an aircraft, vehicle, or animal

What is excluded?

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 over time

Damage resulting from lack of maintenance
Damage from DIY or poor workmanship
Intentional damage caused by the policyholder
Damage from pests and pets
Unoccupied properties
Some insurers exclude gardens, fences, hedges or gates of a property

How much does home insurance cost?

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 various factors including the type of property you own, and where you live. This is because your location lets insurers know the risks to your home in your area. Things like local repair and labour costs, crime rates, flood risks, and the overall number of claims for your region all impact costs.

The average cost of home insurance in the UK is £241.88

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How can I get a cheaper home insurance quote?

The bad news is that the average cost of insuring a home has risen 60% in England alone since 2023***. 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. They will be able to find out the flood risks and crime rates in your area. This is why it is so important to do your research and know what red flags to look out for when you are viewing 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 increase the excess on your policy to reduce the premium. Just know that this will mean paying a little more out of pocket each time you make a claim.

Pay annually

Providers will usually charge less if you pay your premium annually rather than monthly. This is because you avoid the added interest that is applied when you pay monthly. By paying your insurance monthly, you are entering into 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 home security makes you less of a risk to insure. Improving the security of your home could lead to lower premiums on both home and contents policies. Insurers often reward measures like installing security lights, house alarms, and BSI (British Standards Association) approved locks, like a 5 lever mortice deadlock.

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.

Optional extras 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 documents will outline the events covered, which usually include flooding, fire or storm damage.

✓ Bicycle cover

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

✓ Legal costs cover

Covers the cost of legal help or advice for disputes related to your property. For example, 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.

What do I need to know to get a quote?

Getting a quote is easy with Mirror Switch and Save. You just need a few basic details and you're away.

✓ 1. Basic details about the home

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

✓ 2. Rebuild costs and contents value

It is important to get these right because the values you provide will be the maximum amount 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 to get an accurate rebuild value and understand how much it would cost to replace the entire contents of your home.

✓ 3. The level of cover you want

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

Once you've put all of those details in, you should have a selection of quotes in no time.

Understanding the claims process

Home insurers will have different guidelines when it comes to claiming on your insurance. But each will follow the same general process.

✓ Contact your insurer to notify them of the damage or loss as soon as you can.

✓ The insurer will carry out an investigation which may require proof of ownership, receipts and estimates for any repairs.

✓ The claim will be either rejected or settled fully or partially by the insurer.

✓ The insurer might identify an at-fault party who is liable for the damages to recover their costs.

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Home insurance FAQs

The 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.

This very much depends on where you live, what your home is like and what kind of cover you're after. The best insurance for your home will be one that meets your needs and budget. Using an insurance comparison site can 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. A lot of this is caused by more extreme weather and UK storms. Another factor is the increased costs for materials and labour to repair and rebuild after damages has also played a part. As a consequence, insurers have had to raise premiums to cover these costs.

Unlike other types of insurance, you can usually make a claim as soon as your home policy begins. Be careful not to confuse the policy start date with the date you paid for your insurance, as these can differ. Your insurer will let you know if there is an exclusion period on your policy.

This depends on what caused the leak. 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.

A water supply pipe is an external pipe that connects your home to the main water supply. Insurers will usually 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. It is a common add-on for home insurance policies and is also 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.