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Our cover

Home Insurance for Foster Carers

Quick to buy online

  • Cover for short and long-term placements.
  • Buildings Cover up to £1 million.
  • Underwritten by AXA insurance.
David Joyson

Written by

David Joyson

Home Insurance Expert & Customer Champion

Sophie Kamkar

Reviewed by

Sophie Kamkar

Content Marketing Manager

Less than 1 minute

Updated: 12 Mar 2024

Home Insurance for Foster Carers

We know that your foster children are part of the family. That’s why we make it as easy as possible for foster carers to gain home insurance. Unlike many other insurers, we don’t single you out with hard questions. At Homeprotect:

  • Foster children count as family members.
  • Foster care is not considered a home business.
  • Unless foster care is your primary occupation, you don’t need to declare it.

That means that all your foster children and their possessions can be included under your home insurance policy, just as they should be. We can provide a quote even if you are fostering in the short-term.

Making sense of finances

Foster carers often receive a weekly allowance to support childcare. This can raise questions about whether fostering is classed as an occupation. But when it comes to getting foster care home insurance from us, this is not classed as working from home.

If you do also run a business from home, however, then we can still provide a quote that is tailored to meet your needs.

Home Insurance with business use Reviews

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What’s covered by BUILDINGS & contents insurance?

Home insurance provides financial protection if you need to repair your home or replace your belongings after they’ve been stolen, damaged or destroyed.

It comes in two parts: buildings insurance (cover against damage to the property itself) and contents insurance (for damaged or stolen items within the home). These can be combined or bought separately, so the first step is deciding which option is better for you.

What we offer

Quick home emergency response times

Have a home emergency, such as electricity failure, faulty locks or vermin infestation? With the 24/7 Home Emergency cover, which we provide as standard, you can typically get an engineer at your home within four hours. And if you’re worried about an uncontrollable leak in your home, we aim to have an emergency plumber to you within two hours.

Extreme weather conditions may extend response time. Policy terms and claim limits apply.

5 star rated buildings cover

Our building insurance has been given the highest rating by independent financial research companies, Defaqto and Moneyfacts.

Repair guarantee

Any buildings work we undertake is guaranteed for 24 months following a claim and any contents repair work we undertake is guaranteed for 12 months.

New for old

Where we replace an item, we will do our best to meet the original specification on a ‘new for old’ basis. If we can’t find an exact replacement, we’ll offer you a suitable alternative, or a full cash settlement.

Legal advice

We provide Legal Protection cover as standard, giving you access to telephone legal advice on any personal legal issue, under the laws of the UK, any European Union country, the Isle of Man, Channel Islands, Switzerland and Norway.

What isn’t included?

Damage cause gradually, or by wear and tear, or by failure to fix a known issue.

Faulty design or poor workmanship.

Damage caused by pets.

The cost of repairing or replacing items following a mechanical or electrical fault.

Lost items.

Recommended by our customers

72% Saved money when they switched to Homeprotect*

buildings & Contents Insurance Cover Levels

Our home insurance is designed to protect your home against insured events such as fire, storm, flood, escape of water, theft, malicious damage, subsidence, landslip or heave.

Buildings cover

Covers the main structure of your home if you need to rebuild or repair it.

up to £1 million

(eligibility criteria applies)

Contents cover

Covering the value of all your possessions in the home, on a new for old basis.

from £25,000

Alternative accommodation

For you and your pets, in case you can’t live at your home while it’s being repaired after an insured event.

up to £85,000

Home emergency

Covers emergencies that occur in your home like uncontrollable water leaks, electricity failure, faulty locks and vermin infestation. Two levels of cover are available.

up to £500

Family legal protection

Provides a 24/7 legal advice helpline and up to £25,000 cover for claims involving contract disputes and property damage. For a claim to be successful, there must be reasonable prospects (more than a 50% chance) of winning the legal case. Two levels of cover are available.

up to £25,000

Trace and access

Covers the cost of detecting the source of a water or oil leak and repairing any damage caused in the process.

up to £10,000

Outbuildings cover

Covers rebuild or repair of your outbuildings (such as detached garages, greenhouses, sheds and summerhouses).

from £20,000

Liability cover

Liability cover involving accidental death, bodily injury or illness or property damage that you are legally liable to pay.

up to £5 million

Personal possessions

Cover for portable items that you take out of your home, like bags, clothes and sports equipment

Optional

Gadgets, bikes and valuables away from the home

Cover for electronic gadgets (e.g. mobile phones, laptops, tablets etc), bikes (including electrically assisted bikes) and valuables (e.g. watches and jewellery) that you take out of your home.

Optional

Accidental damage

Covers situations when unexpected accidents happen, such as spillages on the carpet, breakages around the house or drilling through hidden pipes. Two levels of cover are available.

Optional

Your Questions Answered

Accidental damage cover is optional.

Basic Accidental Damage cover is optional with your contents insurance and covers consumer electronics used for entertainment purposes that are not designed to be portable, such as desktop computers and monitors, DVD and Blu-Ray players, gaming consoles, home cinema systems, sound systems and TVs up to £1,500 per claim. 

Basic Accidental Damage cover is optional with your building insurance and covers fixed glass in windows, doors, fanlights and skylights, ceramic or induction hobs, solar panels, fixed sanitary ware and bathroom fixtures and underground pipes and services, up to £1,500 per claim. 

Due to the nature of foster care, and particularly for short-term cases, you may be uncertain of the number of children that will be in your care during the 12 month period of the policy. In this case, simply complete an online quote using the maximum number of dependent children that you think will be living with you. If your circumstances change, then please contact our Customer Services team to let us know.

Homeprotect views all children as dependents. Simply list them as you would any other member of the family.

Yes, business equipment is covered as standard under a Homeprotect Contents policy – up to £3,000 per claim. A higher claim limit can potentially arranged following referral to our underwriting team.

We define business equipment as equipment used to run your business, such as desktop computers, keyboards, monitors, office furniture, photocopiers, printers, routers.

Laptops, mobile phones and other electronic gadgets are also covered under a Homeprotect Contents policy, though these are not subject to the £3,000 claims limit.

Business tools (e.g. professional lawnmowers, kilns, power tools) and business stock are not covered as standard under a Homeprotect policy, though they can be potentially covered following referral to our underwriting team.

View more FAQs

New Customer?

If you’re deciding on whether to buy home insurance with us, you can use our latest policy booklets as a guide.

Existing Customer?

Additional Cover Options

Accidental Damage

The Homeprotect policy includes the option of Basic Accidental Damage, which covers electrical home entertainment equipment (such as desktop computers and monitors, DVD and Blu-Ray players, gaming consoles, home cinema systems, sound systems and TVs) up to £1,500 per claim. An upgrade …

Learn More

Legal expenses cover

The insurance policy includes Basic Legal Expenses cover which provides up to £25,000 for legal fees you may face for disputes associated with your home; such as ownership of the insured property; and the sale or purchase of the insured property. You can upgrade to Full Legal Expenses cover.

Learn More

Home emergency cover

The insurance policy includes Basic Home Emergency cover which provides cover for common home emergencies including burst pipes; failure of the domestic power supply (gas or electricity); and removal of pests or vermin. You can upgrade to Full Home Emergency to include cover for roof …

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