Building Insurance vs Home Insurance

By Amanda Vallance, Howden, Platinum Member.

Building Insurance and Home Insurance – What’s the difference?

Ever wondered what the difference is between building insurance and home insurance? Despite sounding similar, building insurance and home insurance aren’t the same thing! You must be able to distinguish between the two to make sure your home and contents are properly protected — especially if you’re a homeowner.

Building insurance specifically covers the actual structure of your building, as well as any permanent fixtures and fittings. These are things that cannot be removed from your home without damage, for example, a fitted kitchen or bathroom. In general, these sorts of things are covered by buildings insurance, rather than contents insurance. 

The damage to your home from fire, flood or other unforeseen event can be devastating, both emotionally and financially, so should the worst happen, you’ll want to know that you’re covered. And if you’re a landlord, then it’s your responsibility to keep the building in good working order from a legal standpoint.

So even though having building insurance isn’t mandatory by law, for any homeowner, including landlords, it makes financial sense.

Home insurance, in contrast, is more of a catch-all term. For example, a home insurance policy might include both contents and building insurance – but it all depends on the exact wording from the insurer. Home insurance is not the same as contents insurance. Although a home insurance policy may include contents insurance.

Check the policy

That’s why it’s important to check that your chosen home insurance policy provides adequate cover before taking it out. Remember, if you’re a homeowner, you’re responsible for insuring both the contents and the structure of your home. This means that you’ll want to make sure you have both building and contents insurance in place, either separately or under one home insurance policy.

Contents insurance tends to cover items that can be removed from your home, such as appliances, furniture and clothing. Generally, contents insurance protects against damage from things like theft, flood and fire. But it’s always worth checking the terms of your individual policy. Be aware that accidental damage doesn’t tend to be included in standard contents insurance policies, but you can usually add this on.

Landlords and Tenants

Contents insurance is a good idea for most homeowners. But if you’re a landlord of an unfurnished property you might decide that contents insurance isn’t worth buying, as it’s the responsibility of your tenant to insure their possessions.

If this is the case, it’s still worth considering any essentials that you might supply with your rented property before deciding you don’t need contents insurance. These might include things like kitchen appliances, curtains and carpets as these items aren’t covered by building insurance. In the end, you might decide that the long-term financial protection that comes with contents cover makes the initial outlay worth it.

Insurance Brokers Understand

Insurance providers understand their customers will want to insure their contents and buildings differently depending on their circumstances. This means there is a wide range of policies available on the market.

These include:

• Landlords’ insurance.
• Tenants’ insurance. 
• Student contents insurance. 
• Holiday home insurance. 
• Listed building insurance. 

And the list doesn’t end there! So always do your research, or enlist the help of a specialist insurance broker to make sure you’re getting the right cover for your needs.

Whatever your circumstances, you must get the right cover for you. But thankfully, there are loads of options to choose from. From specialist, holiday home insurance to tenants’ insurance and student contents insurance; you might be surprised at what’s on offer. 

At Howden, we’ve got plenty of home and contents insurance policies to choose from including those listed above. And, because you’ll have our specialist team of insurance experts on hand, you can rest assured that you’ll find the cover that’s the best fit for you, whatever life looks like!

To learn more, visit Howden Newton Abbot on Courtenay Street or ring the team on 01626 244 890.