Buildings insurance

Buildings insurance is a policy that protects the structural aspects of a property, such as the walls, roof, fixtures and fittings against loss or damage. Buildings insurance will cover the rebuild cost of your home; this is not the same as the property’s market value.

Buildings insurance covers the structure of the home together with its fixtures and fittings: it covers the cost of repair or rebuilding after fire or weather damage for instance. Contents Insurance covers the contents of your home, the possessions you would take with you if you moved house.

Yes. All domestic garages, outbuildings, sheds, extensions and conservatories fall under the definition of Buildings and are covered by your Buildings insurance. Please check that the level of cover included in the policy is enough to rebuild all your outbuildings.

If you own the freehold of your flat, you should take out buildings insurance. If you live in a leasehold flat, or are a tenant, your landlord has responsibility for sourcing buildings insurance.

Buildings insurance covers the full rebuild cost of the property as well as the cost of repair for loss or damage to the structure of your house. Risks covered usually include fire, lightning, explosion, storm, flood, subsidence as well as damage to outbuildings or other areas within the boundary of the property

When you purchased the property a homebuyer’s survey is likely to have included the date of construction.

Your local authority may have a record of when planning permission was granted to build the property.

Your neighbours may have an idea of when the property was built.

Note: A rough estimate of the property construction date is enough for the purposes of getting your home insurance quote.

If you have a heritage property, here are some steps to take:

• Search for your property for free in the 1862 Act register on Land Registry’s digital archives (at https://www.gov.uk/1862-act-register).
• Look at the architectural style and features of the house, particularly the roof and windows.
• Check your county record offices, local parish records or ask to view local archives at your library.
• Look for old copies of Ordnance Survey maps for your area (local library).
• Google for a local historian or a historical society and contact them to see if they can help you.
• Look at census data between 1841 and 1911 to find the first year that the address was mentioned.