Not all buildings and contents insurance policies are the same, so you always need to check the details to see what yours includes. But here are some things that policies generally will and won’t cover…
Deterioration
Home insurance doesn’t cover things naturally deteriorating or breaking because you haven’t looked after them. This is known in the insurance world as ‘wear and tear’. You might also find your home insurance cover is invalidated if damage to your home is caused by wear and tear. For example, if there’s a leak because you haven’t replaced broken roof tiles.
Fire
Cover for fire comes as standard with buildings and contents insurance. So, if you have both you should be covered for damage to the structure of your home and your belongings inside it.
Theft
Keys are sometimes covered by car insurance, rather than home insurance, even if they’re stolen from your house. Replacing modern computerised keys can be very expensive, so check both your car and home insurance to make sure you’re covered for theft, wherever your keys are taken from.
You should be covered if your smartphone is stolen from your home. But to protect your phone while you’re out and about, you’ll need cover for personal possessions outside the home, which isn’t always included as standard. Check with your provider – if you’re not covered, you might be able to add this to your policy as an additional extra.
Accidental Damage
Provided you have cover for accidental damage, this type of incident should be included within your home insurance. You need to make sure accidental damage is included in your policy, though, as it doesn’t always come as standard.
Unoccupancy
Generally, insurance policies will state that you need to tell your provider if you’re going away for more than 30 days. An empty house is considered a higher risk than an occupied one, so your provider may choose to limit the cover they provide while you’re away for a long period, or you may need to take out specialist unoccupied home insurance.
Speak to your insurance provider if you intend to be away for longer than 30 days – they may be able to add endorsements to your policy, to ensure your property is fully covered.