Home insurance typically splits the value of your home into two main forms of cover known as ‘buildings’ and ‘contents’, and the main difference is that buildings insurance covers the structure of your home and any additional associated buildings (such as garages, driveways, outbuildings etc), and contents insurance covers the personal items that are contained within your home. Most insurers offer combined building and contents policies that are easy to set up and typically offer savings over taking out separate insurance policies. However a combined insurance policy may not provide you the cover you need for your home insurance and could offer you a good buildings policy but an inadequate contents policy (or vice versa), so in some cases you may be better off taking out separate policies with different insurers (especially if you have any special requirements such as cover for very expensive items such as art or jewelry).  It is important you check any policy carefully before you sign up, and do your research so that you understand exactly what cover the policy is offering.

Buildings home insurance

This is the most important aspect of house insurance as it is the part of your policy that covers the structure of your home and any outbuildings (and may also cover you for permanent fixtures such as fences, driveways, paths, boundary walls and swimming pools), so that if your home is severely damaged by threats such as fire, floods or severe weather then you will be covered financially for any repairs or even full rebuilds that are required. Houses can represent a significant asset for homeowners, and the majority of people would not be able to afford to rebuild their homes from scratch if the worst were to happen, so buildings home insurance is a vital form of financial protection for any homeowner and can cover you against a number of events beyond your control such as:

• Storm damage: this may be from the elements themselves such as heavy rain, gale force winds and lightening, or from damage resulting from the storm such as trees toppling over and damaging your property during severe weather.
• Flood and water damage: not all insurers cover you against flood damage, and you may even find it difficult to get this kind of cover if you live in a high risk flooding area, as flooding can cause a lot of damage and could make your home uninhabitable for months. Other forms of water damage you can protect against include burst pipes, blocked and leaking drains and damage from leaking appliances such as washing machines.
• Subsidence: before you buy any property you need to ensure a complete survey is carried out which includes checks for subsidence, because this can be a very expensive issue and most insurers will not cover you for pre-existing subsidence problems as they know full well just how much it could cost them. It is important that you get subsidence cover included in your policy even if you do not have a current problem with this, as if it occurs in the future you could be left facing a very expensive bill.
• Fire, smoke and explosions: there are many potential fire hazards in the home and this is why it is so important to ensure you are covered by your home insurance against fire and smoke, as these are two of the major causes of property damage. Explosions can also occur, as there are a number of common risks in residential properties including gas suppliers and volatile liquids so this is also another form of cover to look out for when choosing a buildings home insurance policy.
• Vandalism: vandals can cause a lot of damage to both your main home and any outbuildings so it is important you are covered against this form of criminal damage, and also damage caused by any third parties that could occur by accident (such as someone driving off the road and into your garage).

Contents home insurance

This type of insurance covers you for any personal belongings and non-permanent fixtures in your home such as appliances, electronic goods, clothing, jewelry, furniture and more. Some policies will also cover you for the contents of your fridge/freezer as this can be expensive to replace should the appliance breakdown and render the contents unusable. Some contents insurance can also cover your garden, as you may have spent a lot of money on this area of your home over the years on various plants and features, which could be very expensive to replace if damaged. Contents insurance will typically cover your belongings against the same types of threats as buildings insurance such as fire, flood, and vandalism and will also cover you for theft as well. You will need to look into contents insurance carefully as there are many different ways you can be covered such as:

• New for old replacement cover: this type of policy will replace any damaged or stolen items with an equivalent new item, so even if your television was five years old it would be replaced with a brand new one, at a similar kind of market value as the original.
• Consumer disputes: some contents policies can cover you for legal costs resulting from a dispute over goods you are buying, holding or selling.
• Neighbor disputes: it is surprising how quickly a simple dispute with neighbors over fences, trees and other boundary issues can soon escalate to legal action, and contents insurance policies can offer you with cover for any legal expenses that arise from these disputes.
• Sports equipment cover: if you take part in any sports and have expensive equipment stored in your home such as golf clubs, kayaks, jet skis or tennis racquets then you can get additional contents insurance cover to protect them against loss or damage.