Your FAQ Search Results

We exclude cover from unoccupied vehicles.

Cover against claims for theft is only provided where there are signs of damage caused by the thief to gain entry, and if your shed was not locked this would not be the case. However, if a padlock, door or window had been broken to gain entry, this would be considered. Don’t forget that there is a limit for any one claim for items stored in outbuildings. Check the current level in our policy booklet.

Where damage occurs to items forming part of a pair, set or suite (e.g. A living-room suite), if the loss or damage occurs to a single item or easily definable area, only the damaged item or area will be repaired or replaced.

No, the only items you need to specify on your policy for cover within your home are items worth £1,500 or more each, if they are classed as “high risk” which are:

• Clocks
• Coin collections
• Furs
• Gold, silver and other precious metals (including plated items)
• Guns
• Jewellery and watches
• Medals
• Medical equipment (including hearing aids)
• Ride on or robotic lawnmowers
• Stamp collections
• Wheelchairs or mobility scooters
• Works of art

Please also specify any mobile phones, smart phones, laptops, tablets and pedal cycles worth £1,500 or more.

There is no maximum amount per valuable item that can be insured under your contents insurance policy. Please note that anything classed as a high risk item that is valued at £1,500 or more needs to be specified on your policy. As a high risk item to be covered under your policy. Electronic gadgets and bikes worth £1500 or more also need to be specified on your policy.

You can add more high-risk items, electronic gadgets or bicycles to your existing contents insurance policy and increase your level of cover for other items by contacting our Customer Services team. Please note that there may be an additional premium amount to be paid.

In most cases, if you make sure the value of these items are included in the value of contents to be insured. Please note that there are some items that we can’t insure such as boats and water skis, please refer to the policy booklet for full details.

In most cases, they are covered up to a certain maximum per claim if you make sure the value of these items are included in the value of contents to be insured. You can find out more about our garage insurance here, and our shed insurance. Please note that there are some items that we can’t insure such as boats and water skis, please refer to the policy booklets for full details.

If you already have a Homeprotect contents insurance policy, please contact our Customer Services team to add more high risk items to be insured. Please note that there may be an additional premium amount to be paid.

Under-insurance means that the ‘sum insured’ is less than the cost of rebuilding, replacing or repairing the buildings or contents at the time of the loss or damage. This might meant that any claim that is settled will be reduced in proportion depending on how underinsured you are, regardless of the amount of the claim.

For example, if your amount of cover only covers a proportion of the cost of rebuilding, replacing or repairing the buildings or contents, it is likely that the insurer will only pay that proportion of the claim for repair or replacement and you will have to cover the remaining cost of the loss or damage yourself. Where there’s a severe underestimations, your insurance provider could even refuse to pay out completely.

Being under-insured is different from being uninsured. When you are uninsured you have no policy in place at all. Although this saves you money in the short term, you risk losing far more than you save if the unexpected happens.

Please contact our customer services team so that your credit agreement can be re-instated and pay any missed payments so that the account is up-to-date.

Yes. Homeprotect contents insurance covers your mobility scooter against theft outside the home, provided you’ve specified it on your policy and requested cover away from home, but only where the thief causes damage while trying to access the scooter, or they used violence or deception to steal your scooter, or the scooter was under your personal supervision at the time of the theft.

For Full Home Emergency cover, if your home remains uninhabitable overnight following an insured incident, DAS will pay up to £300 for hotel accommodation. The decision on whether your home is uninhabitable will take into account whether it would be fair and reasonable to remain in your home.

The main Homeprotect policy will cover either loss of rent (if your property is let to tenants) or the cost of the alternative accommodation for yourself and other residents if your home is unhabitable for prolonged periods.

Please check your Policy Booklet for the maximum amount you can claim for.

We are currently unable to offer personal possessions cover as a standalone product – this can only be purchased as an additional extra option with contents insurance.

Yes! If you need to claim, it will be useful if you have a receipt, bank or credit card statement that shows its purchase price.

Standard home insurance will not provide the same level of cover for a Bed & Breakfast business. You may well find that house insurance can be harder to get hold of than standard types, due to the fact that you now have a steady stream of guests staying in your home. While you are working from home, you are also at risk of accidental damage and may need to look into liability insurance. Start your quote at Homeprotect to find out what can be covered with our B&B house insurance.

It is in your best interests to have a written contract between you and any parents that you are providing childminder services to. In relation to home insurance, we provide up to £25,000 of legal expenses as standard within our home insurance. You may choose to upgrade this further when taking out cover.

If your property is going to be empty for more than 30 consecutive days, you need to let us know.

Homeprotect contents insurance does not include accidental loss, so this would not be covered.

There is a maximum claim limit unless you have specifically asked to increase this. Check the current level in our policy booklet.

There is a maximum claim limit unless you have specifically asked to increase this. Check the current level in our policy booklet.

If you miss a monthly payment, we’ll contact you to let you know how to clear your outstanding balance. You can do this ahead of time by making a payment here.

You may be charged a fee if you miss a monthly direct debit payment, so it’s important to get in touch with us as soon as possible if you’re experiencing difficulties paying for your policy.

When you receive probate – also known as a grant of probate – you gain legal authority to administer the deceased’s assets in line with the instructions laid out in their will. This also includes paying taxes and debts, managing disputes and ensuring the estate is handled by laws and regulations.

When a home is left empty for years, it means that no one is around to regulate the temperature and act on the early signs of damage. As a result, long-term unoccupied properties are more susceptible to damp, paint peeling, pests and even wear and tear to the building itself. Plus, these visual signs of neglect also make the property an attractive target to potential intruders.

Leaving a home empty for years also has implications for mortgages and home insurance – which may be invalidated or retracted if the property is unoccupied for a certain period.

We consider jewellery to be a high risk item. As standard we have a limit of £5,000 (or 20% of your contents sum insured, whichever is lower) for high risk items which are individually worth less than £1,500. If you have lots of jewellery (or other types of high risk item) which are individually worth less than £1,500 then you can contact us and we can request an increase in cover from our underwriters. Alternatively you can choose to specify items on your policy which means they are covered independent of the high risk item limit.

If an item of jewellery is worth more than £1,500 it will need to be specified on your policy.

High risk items worth £1,500 or more individually or as part of a collection. Bikes and electronic gadgets (mobile phones, smart watches, laptops, tablets) worth £1500 or more each. To insure any of these items you must list them individually when you take out the policy. You just need to tell us the brand name, model name and cost to replace it new for each item.

Contents insurance does not cover fixtures ( items that are permanently attached to the interior or exterior of your home or outbuildings, such as kitchen or bathroom suites) but it does cover fittings (removable items that are attached to the interior or exterior of your home and outbuilding, such as carpets).

Yes, you can insure your collectibles as part of your home insurance. If any individual item, or a set of items,falls under our definition of high risk item and is worth £1,500 or more it should be individually specified on your policy. Please note that you should store your collectibles in the main home building (rather than a detached garage or outbuilding) to be covered for theft or damage.

There are a number of ways in which you can take precautions to protect your keys: 

• Never attach anything to your keys that contains your name, address or any details of where your car may frequently be parked and never leave keys unattended. 
• Never hide keys under door mats, bins or on top of window frames as an opportunistic thief may be watching, or may guess where keys may be hidden. 
• Never leave doors or windows open, even by a small amount. 
• Never leave your keys in your vehicle, even for a moment, especially when you are visiting petrol stations, or whilst loading or unloading your vehicle. Always lock your car when leaving it. 
• Do not keep duplicate keys on the same key ring as your main keys. 
• Burglars are increasingly turning to key crime as sophisticated security measures are now fitted as standard to new cars, and have been known to break into homes and offices just to steal car keys. Never leave car keys close to the front door where they can be seen 

Problems occur when homeowners overlook items, often missing out entire categories in a given estimate, purely because the scope is so vast. You might look around your room, listing the items you can see and calculating their value, but neglect to include rugs or cookware. Items that are kept stored out of sight are also at particular risk of being forgotten, such as garden tools, luggage, linen, clothes (an average person’s clothing alone could cost over £10,000 to replace), and food and drink. You should make sure you account for absolutely everything when working out how much to insure for.

It’s also important to be aware of any changes to replacement costs that may arise from time to time, for example, if the price of precious metals changes.

Contents insurance insures all the belongings in your home that are not attached to the property. Contents are the items that you would take with you when you move home. This includes:

Your furniture, rugs, computer, entertainment equipment, cds, dvds, videos, valuables, clothing, personal belongings – even the food in your freezer! You may be asked to specify certain items (such as bikes, electronic gadgets and high risk items) on the policy and you may be asked to make additional security provisions such as locks or a burglar alarm if you live in an area with a high theft rate. 

Yes, we offer cover for general personal possessions anywhere in the world. This cover is for theft of and physical damage to items individually worth less than £1,500, that are likely to be worn, carried or used by you away from the home, such as bags, clothes and sports equipment. Electronic gadgets (e.g. Mobile phones, tablets, headphones, laptops), bikes, high risk items and items worth £1,500 or more will need to be specified on your policy. 

If you specified the item at its new purchase price rather than the discounted price you paid for it second hand, your cover will be on a new for old basis. If you specified the item at its second hand value, or didn’t specify it because it was under the limit for specifying electronic gadgets, your cover would be at the second hand purchase value.

When your claim is approved, we’ll work with specialist suppliers to repair your property and get things back to normal. If you’re making a claim for your belongings, we’ll arrange to repair or replace the affected items.

Depending on what has happened, you may be able to request a cash pay out to replace or repair your building or contents instead of us carrying out the repair or replacement. We’ll let you know about this once your claim has been reviewed and we’ve agreed on the repair or replacement value.

You will be covered if the item accidentally damaged belongs to you and you have specified it on your policy and requested ‘away from home’ cover or upgraded your policy to include ‘personal possessions’ cover away from the property. If the item does not belong to you or you do not have away from home cover, it will not be covered by your Homeprotect home insurance policy. 

There are several reasons why your claim might be rejected:

Inaccurate or withheld information
The cover we offer you is based on the information you provided when buying or renewing your policy. If this information isn’t accurate, we may reject your claim. That’s why it’s important to take the time to answer our questions as accurately as possible and check your policy details at renewal.

Wear and tear
Wear and tear is not covered under Homeprotect policies. To avoid your claim being rejected due to wear and tear, it’s important to carry out regular maintenance on your home.

Contents not specified
Some items of contents need to be specified on your policy to be covered. If you make a claim for an item that should have been specified on your policy, we’ll likely reject your claim. More guidance on specified items can be found in your policy booklet.

Partial pay out
We might refuse to pay the full amount of your claim if you’ve under-estimated the total value of your buildings or contents cover (known as ‘being under-insured’).

The answer to this question very much depends on your risk tolerance. Are you the sort of person who is very careful when it comes to your home and possessions? If so, you may find the chances of you needing accidental damage are slim, therefore it may not be worth the additional cost.

Specifically in terms of contents insurance, you should consider whether it’s worth paying for accidental damage cover (either basic or full cover) if in reality you’re only concerned about one or two valuable items (e.g. an expensive laptop). In which case you should consider whether it’s more appropriate to specify these items (which provide cover against theft and physical damage), rather than buy accidental damage cover.

Another consideration is your excess. You will have a compulsory excess for both buildings and contents (typically £99) and the option of choosing an additional voluntary excess (up to £900). So if you had an overall £999 contents excess, for example, then you’d only be able to claim for accidental damage incidents which exceeded £999 in value.

There are several reasons why your claim might be rejected:

Inaccurate or withheld information
the cover we offer you is based on the information you provided when buying or renewing your policy. If this information isn’t accurate, we may reject your claim. That’s why it’s important to take the time to answer our questions as accurately as possible and check your policy details at renewal.

Wear and tear
wear and tear is not covered under homeprotect policies. To avoid your claim being rejected due to wear and tear, it’s important to carry out regular maintenance on your home.

Contents not specified
some items of contents need to be specified on your policy to be covered. If you make a claim for an item that should have been specified on your policy, we’ll likely reject your claim. More guidance on specified items can be found in your policy booklet.

Partial pay out
we might refuse to pay the full amount of your claim if you’ve under-estimated the total value of your buildings or contents cover (known as ‘being under-insured’).

Buildings Insurance covers the main structure of your home. If it were to subside, burn down or be damaged or destroyed by extreme weather, your policy covers the costs of rebuilding or repair. It also covers any permanent fixtures in your home like built-in wardrobes, fitted carpets, kitchen surfaces, taps, basins, baths and showers.

Homeprotect Buildings Insurance also covers outbuildings, boundary walls, gates and the cost of temporary alternative accommodation should your home be uninhabitable following a claim.

Contents Insurance insures all the belongings in your home that are not attached to the property. Contents are the items that you would take with you when you move home. This includes: your furniture, rugs, laptop, tablet, entertainment equipment, CDs, DVDs, games, valuables, clothing, personal belongings – even the food in your freezer! You may be asked to specify certain items (such as bikes, electronic gadgets and high risk items) on the policy. You may also be asked to make additional security provisions such as locks or a burglar alarm if you live in an area with a high theft rate.

See our policy booklet or login to see your policy documents for full details and exclusions.  

You should first submit a complaint here and give our complaints team eight weeks to respond. If you’re not happy with the outcome of your complaint, you can ask the Financial Ombudsman to investigate what’s happened.

More details on how to make a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman can be found here.

If you furnish your let property you’ll need insurance to protect the items you supply against fire and theft. Contents include furniture, household utensils, electrical equipment, soft furnishings such as lampshades, and curtains and blinds. You can choose the level of cover you need as appropriate and you only pay for the amount of cover you choose.

Homeprotect landlord buildings cover includes £7,500 per claim for your contents in let property.

If the contents are worth more than this, you need to add landlord contents insurance to your policy.

This cover is often not very expensive, but it’s invaluable to make sure you’re not out of pocket in the event you’d need to claim.

No, it is not illegal to not have landlord insurance. However, while it isn’t a legal requirement, landlord insurance is popular as it protects those renting to tenants if the worst happens.   

Standard home insurance is unlikely to cover any of the specific risks facing landlords or the building when the homeowner isn’t present, so home insurance policies specially tailored to landlords provide peace of mind against risks like damage, theft and unpaid rent.  

Some lines of work lead you to storing cash – or other items which are highly attractive to burglars – at home, whether overnight or longer term. This group includes jewellers, taxi drivers, shop workers and book makers.

Police officers can also be targets for malicious damage or arson.

Having a high volume of visitors to your home for business purposes – for example, because you’re a childminder – increases the risk of accidental damage and public liability claims which impacts your insurance premium.

The main reasons for underpinning are that the structure of a property has become unstable. In turn, this happens when the foundations can no longer adequately support the building because:

• Its usage has changed, for example, because an extension has added which puts extra strain on the foundations of the main building.
• The wrong type of foundation was chosen when the property was designed arising from mis-classification of the soil type.
• The structure of the soil in which the foundations sit has changed, usually because of too much or too little water in it, causing subsidence.

In the event of a claim, you may be asked to provide evidence of value and ownership, such as purchase receipts or valuation certificates. It’s essential to provide this documentation for any high-risk items that you’ve specified on your policy, such as jewellery or watches. 

Yes, if it’s worth less than £1,500 individually then it is covered as standard under our contents cover (subject to the claims limit on High Risk Items). If it is worth £1,500 or more then it needs to be specified on your policy. 

Yes you can! You only need to specify items of jewellery worth more than a certain amount on your policy, or if you want them covered outside your home. Check the current level in our policy booklet.

If you’re making a buildings insurance or contents insurance claim, the quickest way to do this is by logging in here and letting us know more about the incident. We’ll give you guidance on what you’re covered for to help you decide whether to submit the claim. Alternatively, you can call our claims team on 0330 660 0660.

You can also contact us on 0330 660 0660 to make a claim on an additional cover option such as legal expenses or home emergency cover. Check your policy documents for more details on your additional cover options.

Our claims team will request your policy number and details of the loss or damage including: date and time, your description of what happened, what the extent of the loss or damage is, what exactly is lost or damaged, the estimated value of the items lost or damaged (if applicable) and whether the police have been informed (in the case of theft or vandalism).

In the event of a claim, you may be asked to provide evidence of value and ownership, such as purchase receipts or valuation certificates. It’s essential to provide this documentation for any high-risk items that you’ve specified on your policy, such as jewellery or watches.

Not unless you have taken out our personal possessions cover. This cover is an optional extra that you can purchase with your policy. Under our Homeprotect policy, the personal possessions option covers your personal belongings against theft or physical damage anywhere in the world.

If you are taking these possessions overseas, cover is included for up to 90 days each year. Any individual items worth £1,500 or more and any bike, electronic gadget or high risk item will need to be specified on the policy.

We provide cover up to £6,000 per claim for a family member living at university or college provided the items were within occupied student accommodation at the time of the loss and so long as your son or daughter comes back to the insured property outside term time. Any laptops, tablets, smartphones, mobile phones or bikes will have to be specified on your policy to be covered for physical damage or theft.

If you own a second home which is usually occupied, but will be unoccupied between 31 and 180 days, you typically get our standard policy cover, but with exception of the following exclusions:

Escape of water incidents during the period: 1 October – 1 April (inclusive).

Theft incidents, unless all security features (e.g. locks and alarms) included in your property are maintained in good working order and in full operation.

Claims involving money and high risk items (e.g. jewellery).

Although it’s not essential to have contents insurance when you’re renting your home, having suitable cover in place gives you peace of mind should the unexpected happen – see our policy booklet for details of our cover.

The policy will contribute towards the cost of vehicle hire for a period of up to 3 days if your vehicle is unusable as a result of the insured keys being lost, stolen or damaged by accidental means. The policy will pay up to a maximum of £40 per day for a hire vehicle such as a Ford Focus 1.6 or a Peugeot 307 1.6 (ABI class S4).

We need to know where your belongings are kept in order to provide the right amount of cover for you. For example, if the property that you live in has a history of flooding, or it is a listed building and therefore has no window locks, then the risk of your belongings being damaged or stolen is higher; therefore we need to know all about the building to properly cover your belongings. Having an accurate level of cover means that, if the worst happens, your claim is more likely to be paid out in full.

For insurance purposes, your camera includes your lenses too. If the total value of your digital camera, lenses and other accessories is above the limit required for specifying electronic gadgets items on your policy, you need to let us know about all of the parts of your camera equipment, even if each of them separately is below the limit. Check the current limit in our policy booklet.

No. Homeprotect insurance policies replace items on a new for old basis, which means that we provide a replacement up to the specifications of the original. Alternatively, we may offer a cash settlement based on what the camera could be bought for now.

Front doors locks are considered part of the building so are covered for any claim arising from a risk we cover. Homeprotect policies also protect you against up to £750 of the cost of replacing security features if your keys are stolen. 

Accidental loss is the loss of any item of your contents, inside or away from the home. Accidental loss is not covered by a Homeprotect policy.

The term unoccupied does not mean completely empty of all items or furniture – it refers to a property that is not being lived in. Unoccupied often refers to a property that is left in a state in which the homeowner could return to live in at any point. 

Visit every room in your home (including the attic, shed and cupboards under the stairs!) And list all your belongings including curtains, kitchen equipment, luggage etc. Research how much it would cost to replace each item as new and then add up the full amount you’d need to replace everything. 

We normally cover the amount you specify, however if you enter a very low amount your policy may include more than this, if this is the case you will be made aware of this before purchasing.

The average compulsory excess for a buildings claims is £149 and £136 for contents claims. There are also separate compulsory excesses for flooding, subsidence/landslip/heave, escape of oil and escape of water claims. The total excess you will pay is the sum of the relevant compulsory excesses and voluntary excesses (if you have any).

You can find the exact excess amounts you’ll pay towards a successful claim in your policy documents.

Example: if you’re looking to make an accidental damage claim for an item of contents worth £1000, you would pay the sum of your compulsory and voluntary contents excesses towards the claim if it’s successful.
If your compulsory contents excess is £150 and you chose a voluntary contents excess of £100, you’ll pay £250 towards your successful claim and receive £750:

Item value = £1000

Excesses payable = £150 (compulsory) + £100 (voluntary) = £250

Claim payout = £1000 – £250 = £750

Yes – Homeprotect contents insurance will cover the loss or damage of your belongings on a new for old basis, meaning that you will receive the value of the item to replace it at today’s prices.

Yes, you will be covered as long as you have specified the item on your policy and requested ‘away-from-home’ cover, or you have upgraded your policy to include ‘personal possessions’ cover away from the property. 

There may be exclusions stated in your policy and it’s very important that you read and understand these exclusions. Examples of things that may not be covered are basements and their contents, as well as items such as money, precious metal and important paperwork kept in the house.  

You should first submit a complaint here and give our complaints team eight weeks to respond. If you’re not happy with the outcome of your complaint, you can ask the financial ombudsman to investigate what’s happened.

More details on how to make a complaint to the financial ombudsman can be found here.

Defining which property is your main residence can sometimes be tricky. Aspects to consider when making the decision are where most of your belongings are kept and where you spend the majority of your time.  

For instance, if one address is predominantly used for legal interests, is where your car is registered and is what you would consider to be the family home then your insurer will use this distinction to provide cover for your main residence. Anything outside of these situations would typically be a second home, including holiday homes and weekday/weekend properties.  

Yes, you need to let us know if your home is undergoing renovations valued over £20,000.  

If you don’t, you may find your policy invalid in the event of a claim. This applies whether or not you continue to live in your home while the work is being done. This is because the risk of something unexpected happening to your home and its contents increases considerably during renovations.   

To make a claim with unoccupied home insurance, you will need to:

• Have your Policy Document to hand
• Have proof of ownership and a valuation (e.g. receipts or bank statements)
• Provide proof of loss along with a full description of what happened

When you’re ready, log in to submit your claim online or call our claims hotline.

Flood Re is a flood risk home insurance scheme, designed to make flood cover more affordable for UK homeowners which has been in place since 4 April 2016.  

The Flood Re scheme enables insurers to take on more customers at risk of flooding because the consequences of large claims are shared between insurers. This happens behind the scenes, so customers can compare and purchase home insurance as they would normally.  

Visit the Flood Re website for further details.  

Coach house cover protects homeowners against insured events such as fire, storm, flood, escape of water, theft, malicious damage, subsidence, landslip or heave.   

While there is no legal obligation to take out any form of house insurance, it can protect your building, contents or both if the worst happens.    

Although you should check the specific terms of your tenancy agreement, common practice is that landlords only take out buildings insurance for properties they let out and tenants are responsible for buying insurance cover for their belongings. This arrangement makes practical sense as you can ensure that the level of content cover you get is appropriate for the things you own including any high risk items, bikes and electronic gadgets.

The optional lost key cover provides you with cover up to £1,500 for the year following the loss, theft or damage of keys anywhere in the UK, it also includes:

• Locksmiths charges.
• Onwards transport costs if you are stranded as result of the loss
• Theft or damage of your car keys.

As Airbnb says, “The Host Guarantee should not be considered a replacement or stand-in for homeowners or renters insurance,” and it does not cover communal areas of your property. Home insurance protects your property against a wide range of risks, giving you peace of mind that you’re covered should the unthinkable happen.

Each property is different. Use the ABI rebuild calculator for free online to work out the rebuild cost of your house (this is not its market value). For a large house you might prefer to use a professional surveyor to provide an estimate of the rebuild cost. When it comes to contents insurance, you should include every item in the home by going from room to room, including electronics, clothing, kitchen appliances, etc.

The type of home insurance policy you need will depend on how long your property is unoccupied between tenants.

If the property is usually occupied but is left unoccupied for between 31 and 180 days, then you typically get all the cover of our standard policy terms, but with exception of the following exclusions:

• Escape of water incidents during the period: 1 October – 1 April (inclusive).

• Theft incidents, unless all security features (e.g. locks and alarms) included in your property are maintained in good working order and in full operation.

• Claims involving money and high risk items (e.g. jewellery).

Check out our home insurance for landlords.