Whether you're a first-time buyer or you've owned your house for years, home insurance can sometimes feel a bit complicated. But it doesn't have to be! We've answered 10 of the most common questions people ask when it comes to protecting their home and what’s in it:
1. Is home insurance mandatory?
Home insurance isn’t a legal requirement, but if you have a mortgage, your lender will likely insist on you having buildings insurance as a condition of the loan. Even if you're mortgage-free, having cover in place is a good idea as it gives you peace of mind knowing you’re protected against unexpected (and potentially extremely pricey) events like fire, flooding or theft.
2. Is buildings insurance the same as home insurance?
Not quite. Home insurance is often used as a general term, but it usually includes two parts: buildings insurance, which covers the structure of your home, and contents insurance, which covers everything inside. With esure, you can buy them separately if you only need one type of cover, or as a combined policy if you need both.
3. How much contents insurance do I need?
A good rule of thumb is to think about how much it would cost to replace everything inside your home if you were buying it brand new, from furniture and electronics to clothes, kitchenware and even curtains. Underestimating the amount can leave you short if you need to claim, so it’s worth taking the time to go room by room and add it all up.
For more details and information, head to our Contents Insurance page.
4. What happens if I am underinsured?
To be ‘underinsured’ means that the amount you’ve chosen to insure isn’t enough to cover the full costs of a potential claim – so for example you’ve valued your contents at £20,000, but they’re actually worth £40,000. If you're underinsured and you make a claim, your insurer might only pay out some of the total cost based on how much you were actually covered for, and in some cases the claim may not be paid at all. That’s why it’s important to keep your policy up to date and make sure your contents value reflects what you own.
5. How do I know when my property was built?
It’s handy to know this information as you’ll need it when getting a quote. If you’re not sure of your home’s build year, you can usually find it on the property deeds, your mortgage documents or through a survey. You could also try contacting your local council or looking up historical planning applications.
6. Does esure Home Insurance cover my roof?
Like most standalone buildings policies and combined home buildings and contents insurance policies, esure will cover damage to your roof caused by events like storms, fire or falling trees. General wear and tear isn’t covered, so it’s a good idea to get any minor issues sorted before they become bigger (and potentially more expensive!) problems. Take a look at our policy booklets for details of any exclusions.
7. Does esure Home Insurance cover my boiler?
Your boiler isn't covered by your esure Home Insurance. If you have bought our optional extra, Home Emergency Cover, then there may be some cover in place. If your boiler is your main source of heating and suddenly fails for reasons other than wear and tear, we'll pay up to £500 to send someone to your home to try and fix it, subject to any exclusions. You can take a look at the policy booklet for more information, and check whether you have Home Emergency cover in your Account.
8. Does home insurance cover underground pipes?
In many cases, yes. If a pipe that services your property that you’re legally responsible for, such as one that runs from your house to the street, gets damaged accidentally, it’s often included. But it’s always best to check the specifics of your policy or talk to your provider if you're not sure. This type of cover can be complex depending on the location of the problem, so if you need to check if your drains or a specific problem with your drains are covered, you should refer to your policy booklet, or contact your provider.
9. What is accidental damage in home insurance?
Accidental damage is exactly what it sounds like, cover for unexpected, unintentional mishaps. That might be a football through a window, paint spilt on the carpet or a TV knocked off its stand. At esure, we offer our Accidental Damage Cover as an optional extension for an additional premium on both contents and buildings insurance.
10. Can you cancel home insurance at any time?
Yes, you can cancel your policy whenever you like, but if you do need to cancel your policy mid-term, please be aware that there may be a cancellation fee depending on your insurer. For details of our fees, you can visit our Home Insurance administration fees page.
Legally, home insurance policies must include a ‘cooling-off’ period. For esure policies, the cooling-off period is 14 days from the start date of your policy or the date you take out your policy, whichever is later; this is for a new policy or a renewal policy. If you're cancelling your policy within the cooling-off period after you've bought your policy or after your renewal date, you'll be eligible for a refund, as long as you've not claimed during this period. You will still have to pay a cancellation fee however - you can find these on our admin fee pages.
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