Without cover, you risk having to pay for replacements or repairs if something happens to your home or belongings. For example, if they're damaged in a fire or a flood or if your things are stolen.
Here, we look at the importance of having home insurance and things to consider.
If your home was damaged or your possessions stolen, how would you meet the costs of repairs or replacements?
With household insurance in place, if anything happens to your property or possessions that are covered by your policy, you’ll be protected financially.
Buildings insurance is often a requirement when you take out a mortgage. Your property is the mortgage lender’s security on the loan so, understandably, the lender will want to protect their financial interest by making sure the property is insured against damage. This may be due to fire, storms or subsidence.
Your mortgage provider will usually offer to sell you buildings insurance, but you can shop around for it.
Let’s hope it will never happen, but what if a fire destroyed your property? Or a flood caused widespread water damage? Where would you live if your house was uninhabitable?
Most home insurance policies will provide you and your family, including your domestic pets, with somewhere to stay if it’s unsafe to stay in your home.
It’s easy to spill wine on a new carpet or bang a nail through a pipe by mistake. If your home insurance policy includes accidental damage cover, it could pay out for replacements or to repair the damage. You can usually add on accidental damage cover if it isn’t included.
Most possessions will probably be worth less now than when you bought them – your five-year-old laptop, for example. But if something happened to them, you’d want to buy new versions. New for old cover allows exactly that. You get a new replacement if something old is lost or damaged. Not all policies include this type of cover so make sure you check.
If you have a burst pipe or a door that’s been broken in a burglary, you’ll want it fixed fast. Home emergency cover provides you with access to a trades person appointed by the insurance company, often via a 24-hour helpline. Home emergency cover is included in some insurance policies and can often be added on.
HSBC Home Insurance is provided by Aviva Insurance Limited. Exclusions and terms and conditions apply.
