House Insurance

Buildings Insurance

At Dover Insurance Services we have agencies with over 50 home insurance schemes each providing a differing level of cover so we can find you a competitive quotation that will suit your insurance requirements. Click here to request a quotation.

Why do I need buildings insurance?

Most of us could not afford to rebuild our home if it was seriously damaged. Buildings insurance covers the rebuilding costs of your home should it be completely destroyed, such as being burnt to the ground by a house fire.

Buildings insurance is compulsory if your home is mortgaged as the lender will be looking to ensure their security is protected. Many Lenders will offer you their own insurance policy for this purpose. Lenders’ own policies are often more expensive than the policies available from Dover Insurance Services. Please contact us by completing the Contact Us request form or by telephoning on 01304 213613.

What will buildings insurance cover?

Buildings insurance covers the structure of your home including permanent fixtures and fittings from fitted kitchen units to bathroom suites.

Typically buildings insurance policies will cover you for risks to the property structure such as:

• Fire, smoke and explosions
• Storm and flood damage
• Burst pipes and other incidents of water leakage
• Subsidence, heave or landslip
• Vandalism or third party damage

If you live in an area at risk of flood or subsidence you may well need extra cover or have a higher excess imposed by your insurer. This will be worth it for the peace of mind and protection in the event of a claim.

What might not be covered?

It is important to check your policy summary for what is excluded from cover as well as what is covered. Buildings insurance does not cover the contents of your home such as furniture and belongings. See our Home Contents Insurance page.

Common exclusions from buildings insurance policies include:

• Damage arising from wear and tear
• War or acts of terrorism
• Frost damage
• Radioactive contamination
• Sonic booms

The insurer may also invalidate any claims where you have failed to disclose material facts to them or have left the property unoccupied for more than 30 days.

How much buildings insurance do I need?

You need to be insured for the amount it will cost to completely rebuild your home. This is not the same as the Market Value of your home.

You can determine the rebuild cost of your home by appointing a surveyor to assess your home or by using an online calculator. If you are just purchasing your home the rebuild figure will normally be given in your Mortgage Valuation.

Whilst the rebuild figure is usually less than the Market Value of your home the amount may increase if your property has special features such as a thatched roof or is a listed building. In these circumstances it is usually recommended to obtain the rebuild figure from a surveyor.

Insurers may also offer “unlimited cover” policies. However, if you know the rebuild cost of your home, it may be cheaper for us to find a policy that fits your exact needs rather than paying for cover that you do not require.

Once you have purchased your policy it is necessary to keep it up to date. You must keep us informed, reflecting any changes you have made such as extensions or loft conversions to ensure the amount insured reflects the rebuild costs at the current time.

Some insurers will offer policies that are “index linked”. This will ensure that the amount insured moves in line with rebuild costs. This is important as if you are underinsured your insurer may reduce the payout on any claim you make.

It is your responsibility to make sure you are adequately covered and that you have advised us of all changes.

If you live in a risk area for flooding or subsidence or your property has special construction features then additional cover may also be required.

How to make your buildings insurance cheaper

Whilst it is important to ensure that you are adequately covered for the rebuild cost of your home there are ways in which you can look to save money when purchasing your buildings insurance policy.

• Be clear about what level of cover you need. Make sure that you compare like for like when looking at different insurers. Speak to Dover Insurance Services – we can go through these covers with you. This also applies to renewal quotes – do not assume that this is the cheapest cover available.
• Pay your premiums annually. Many insurers will include an additional charge on your premium for paying monthly by direct debit. Where possible this charge can be avoided by paying your insurance in a one off payment every year.
• Raising your policy excess. Many insurance policies include an excess normally £50 that you will need to pay in the event of a claim. Raising the amount you are willing to pay usually results in a reduction to your premium
• Combine with contents insurance. Where you need to buy both buildings and contents insurance it is sometimes cheaper to combine them and buy your policy with the same insurer
• No claims discount. Insurers will usually reward those that have accrued a period of no claims with a cheaper policy premium
• Security. It often pays to improve the security of your property to try and prevent claims happening. Installing a burglar alarm, high quality locks, joining a neighbourhood watch and fitting smoke alarms can all reduce your premiums.

Contact Dover Insurance Services on 01304 213613 today to find out if you could be saving money on your home contents insurance needs.

Complete the BUILDINGS QUOTE FORM for our best price or telephone us on 01304 213613