Frequently asked questions

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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.

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.

Recent research indicated that nearly 7 million households in Britain are underestimating the value of their home contents, and as many as one in five have no contents cover at all. These worrying statistics show that a massive £200 billion worth of our home contents is left exposed.

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’).

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’).