A house is more than bricks and mortar - it's your home or a property investment

The liability for the buildings insurance is with the freeholder. If you own the freehold, it is your responsibility, if you own a leasehold, the buildings insurance charge will form a part of your service charge payable to the freeholder. The lender providing you with a mortgage will want to see a copy of the policy and if you are arranging buildings cover yourself, it should be in place on exchange of the contracts.

Most buildings insurance policies provide cover "up to" an upper limit, for example £300k, £500k or £800k, some provide unlimited cover. The valuation report of the property will provide the information for minimum reinstatement value requirement for the policy you should put in place.

The premium you will pay is calculated taking into account many different pieces of information, of which the most important ones are the postcode, age of the property, number of bedrooms and construction type of the property. By choosing to have a higher excess on the policy you can reduce the premium payable, and for each year of not making a claim you will receive a no-claims discount from the provider.

There usually are optional extras available on the policy- accidental damage cover, family legal cover, Home Emergency Cover etc. Your adviser will be able to provide you with more information.

If you are putting in place Landlords Buildings (and contents) cover, you can choose to add owners legal liability cover, legal protection and rental guarantee, for example.

When putting in place contents cover, you should decide on the level of cover and let your adviser know if there are any particular items you wish to have as named items on the policy (most insurers require you to name items worth over £2000 on the policy). You may choose to add some extras - accidental damage to contents and items protected outside the home, for example.

Through Outlet Money you have access to a large panel of insurers, please contact us on 0845 263 0008 or money@outlet.co.uk for more information or complete the form below and we will get back to you in 24 hours.

Get In Touch Today