Buildings insurance

[cheezemonkhai]

We've been looking at some 4 bed houses and got some quotes for buildings and contents insurance of about £1k per year for £1m buildings and 50k contents. This includes accidental cover too.

I've never had buildings insurance before, so was wondering what others pay and for what cover.

[kilted]

We've been looking at some 4 bed houses and got some quotes for buildings and contents insurance of about £1k per year for £1m buildings and 50k contents. This includes accidental cover too.

I've never had buildings insurance before, so was wondering what others pay and for what cover.

Have a serious look at what is considered contents ("Insurers define 'contents' as the sort of things you would take with you if you were to move house, including furniture, clothes, electrical items, money and jewellery. Contents insurance also covers some fixtures such as carpets and curtains" - money supermarket website) - you may be surprised at how much the contents actually add up to when using their definitions (furniture such as a suite is normally contents for example).

 

Very easy to exceed 50K (when thinking about new values):

Suite £3-5K

TV £500

Game console - £400

Computer £500-1K

Carpets throughout - £2-3K

Fridge £300

Freezer £300

Contents of above £300-500

Bikes £300-1K each

Jewellery  - £500-1K

Clothes - £500-1K

 

Also check what is included and excesses - often high value items need covered or identified separately. We ended up with about £70k of cover with 3 additional high value items identified.

 

£1k seems high to me (living in a "safe" area of Edinburgh) but depending what area you are in it might be reasonable

Edited 17 February, 2015 by kilted

[Wardy]

Bit like car insurance, it depends on the area and the risk associated. Plus the obvious risk scale of being closer to water, proximity of trees over a certain height etc.

 

Without knowing the house cost, £1m seems high to me. Usually it's based on the re-build cost, which is clearly far less than purchase price as you already have the land.

 

As said, I'd probably look at increasing your contents value ceiling, but the overall quote looks a bit pricey to me.

[JamesVRSmk3]

It does sound very expensive. I don't have as big a house (2 bedrooms) but my AA policy has unlimited rebuild costs and £50k contents (from memory) and it is ALOT less than that. It also has a few items declared which are over the limit of £1.5k each. My parents place is 4 bedrooms and doesn't cost a huge amount more than mine and nowhere near £1k. We are in rural Kent though in an area with zero crime.

 

I pay less than £150 a year for buildings and contents with no claims in the last 4 years (although I have just had to claim on buildings so this will probaby go up next year).

 

I also purchased using Quidco so I got an additional £30 cashback and free AA cover for a year.

Edited 17 February, 2015 by JamesVRSmk3

[FUBAR]

I got some crazy quotes when renewing recently, but the best overall I found personally was with the company I posted about here. In terms of comprehensive cover, they were providing a lot more.  http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/340867-home-insurance-offer-on-at-moment-might-be-of-use-if-renewing-soon/?hl=%2Bhome+%2Binsurance cashback has dropped to £60 from £90, but still always good to use a cashback site to help. Quidco also has its own home insurance comparison thing which gives you prices and tells you what cashback you can get along with it. 

[cheezemonkhai]

I just got some new quotes for about 350, which seemed better.

Still a bit of a shocker, but thanks for advice on the contents cover.

[Jigger72]

We've been looking at some 4 bed houses and got some quotes for buildings and contents insurance of about £1k per year for £1m buildings and 50k contents. This includes accidental cover too.

I've never had buildings insurance before, so was wondering what others pay and for what cover.

 

Is it on a flood plain at the bottom of an active volcano and suffering from terminal subsidence?

 

No modern 4-bed house will cost £1m to rebuild, that's just insane. Usually when you give a house valuation, i.e. the price it cost you, they work out a rebuild cost, which is your buildings cost. I can't think of any situation where you'd need £1m to get it back to a liveable standard so I guess this is a standard top limit.

 

To give you some idea, I live in a not-particularly 'safe' area of east London (if car insurance is anything to go by) and have contents insured up to £50k, with extra itemised stuff, and rebuild costs of £200,000 for a 2-bed end of terrace worth, apparently, £400k. I pay £180 per year     

[mk4gtiturbo]

I have a four bed place in a decent area.  When it was built it suffered subsidence which was sorted and it hasn't moved for over thirty years now.  We had a full structural survey when buying the place.

 

We pay about £300 a year and that includes the "uplift" for the house having had subsidence in the past!

[Wardy]

Yep, I would expect to pay around £300 as a general rule of thumb - for that size house, with increased contents cover and accidental cover as well.

 

I got a good price with Swinton this time round, if that's any help.

[DGW]

Get a quote from John Lewis Insurance. I halved what I was paying Halifax with whom I had my mortgage and got a better level of cover too.

[Phil-E]

Use this website to calculate the rebuild cost of the house:

 

http://abi.bcis.co.uk/

 

£1k seems very high to me as I just paid £182 for buildings and contents.

 

But then it does depend on where the property is and any other issues (flooding?)

 

Our friends who live on the river in York pay about £3k per year!

 

Phil

[MickA]

About £120 here, 3 bed semi in semi rural Derbyshire.

 

My mate asked around 2 years ago about insurance costs, I told him what I pay, he told what he has been paying for a few years, 2 bed terrace house over £500 through his bank.

 

He soon ditched them and got it down to something closer to mine with a few calls around the companies, and a beer or two my way for the info.

[Wardy]

I take exactly the same approach as I do with car insurance. Loyalty isn't rewarded, so shop around

[DAN@ADRIAN FLUX]

Hi,

Please feel free to give us a try for a quotation if you. If you wanted to PM me some contact details I'd be happy to arrange for one of my household team to give you a call back.

Regards,

Dan.

[Aspman]

Remember to only pay the rebuild cost on the house not the buying price. In the event of a fire etc you don't repurchase the land.

 

Sounds like a lot for ins, we're under £200 for a 4 bed but our contents is low (about £40k I think), all our stuff is ****e. If we got burgled they'd probably leave a donation.

[Dr Zoidberg]

£120 or so for a 4 bed terrace and contents in a nice enough area. £1k sounds ludicrous unless you are in a war zone.

[nickguzzi]

Almost rural Norfolk, 4 bed detached, detached garaged 1/2 acre.   In the £300 region, but there were a few burglaries a few years ago.

 

The "up to £1,000,000" is to cover rebuilding.  Which will include site clearance, restoration of services, damage to adjacent properties and all that sort of stuff, not just the cost of building a house. 

I suppose you could cause a gas explosion and blow up half the street.

Plus it makes it sound like your getting a good deal.

Unfortunately, they won't write you out a cheque for that amount, its "just in case".

[cheezemonkhai]

The £1m was just their default cover level and they don't do lower.

The cheaper quote was unlimited. It is a new build near a river on land that was raised by a fair few meters above requirements for not flooding, so it could be that £1k is from the insurer using old flood maps.

[cheezemonkhai]

Just seen a site report now that said the site had pervasive arsnic in the soil. Things just keep getting better.

[Aspman]

Just seen a site report now that said the site had pervasive arsnic in the soil. Things just keep getting better.

 

We walked from a house sale when we dicovered from the survey that the land was contaminated with mercury from an old bleachworks.

It was sealed beneath a membrane but that is only as good as the people that laid it and it was probably only guaranteed for X-yr.

 

After paying £300 for a survey a workmate informed me "could have told you that" when I filled them in on it. Thanks a bunch pal.

Edited 18 February, 2015 by Aspman

[Wardy]

Just seen a site report now that said the site had pervasive arsnic in the soil. Things just keep getting better.

 

How come you didn't know that before purchase? Did it not come up on any of the surveys?

[MickA]

How come you didn't know that before purchase? Did it not come up on any of the surveys?

 

OP says we have been looking at houses, so don't think they have one yet.

[gadgetman]

We're back with direct line this year. £300 something with 75k cover, home plus policy and high value stuff individually covered (bikes, computer, mobiles, tablet, jewellery etc).

Once you've found a good deal, don't forget to get cashback (anywhere from £50 to £100 available). Avoid buying through comparison sites. You'll pay more and get less cover. Unless you really must have a meerkat or robot

[gadgetman]

Just seen a site report now that said the site had pervasive arsnic in the soil. Things just keep getting better.

That'll be the veggie patch out of the window

[nickguzzi]

The £1m was just their default cover level and they don't do lower.

The cheaper quote was unlimited. It is a new build near a river on land that was raised by a fair few meters above requirements for not flooding, so it could be that £1k is from the insurer using old flood maps.

 

My house is built below sea level.  As are many in Fenland.  When we moved in the insurance co sent a letter asking about flood risk.  We got a covering letter from the Middle Level Commissioners to the effect they had it all under control and "our" bit had not been inundated since the 17th century.

MLC is in charge of all flood control via the maintenance of canals, dykes and sluices.  We have to pay a levy per acre annually.  Ours is £10.