Home Insurance Buyers' Guide

Your home is your sanctuary, a treasure chest filled with all your most valuable and personal belongings. For peace of mind that it's all protected, you need adequate Home Insurance and that's where Swinton can help.

Before using the Swinton website for your Home Insurance quote, it may be a good idea to find out which level of cover will suit your lifestyle and needs and what the Swinton home insurance policy can offer you. That's why we've come up with this handy guide, which has loads of information to help you make an informed choice on the kind of house insurance you should be asking for. Simply click on the relevant link below to find out more.

Building Insurance
What does Buildings Insurance cover?
Are the structures in my garden and front lawn protected?
What should my Buildings Insurance cover?
How much Buildings Insurance do I need?
Contents Insurance
Are all my contents definitely covered once I have Contents Insurance?
Is Contents Insurance compulsory?
Am I covered if I damage my belongings by accident?
Buildings and Contents Insurance
Are my contents still covered if a burglar steals from my property without forcing access?

Building Insurance

This type of cover is for those who own their property, if you're renting then it is usually your landlord's responsibility to arrange for building cover on the property. If you've taken out a mortgage on your home, then you are required to take out Buildings Insurance to ensure all parties are protected in the event of the property being damaged. Building Insurance is optional if you own your home outright, however, it's worth keeping in mind that Building Insurance covers areas such as subsidence and rebuild costs, which can potentially cost the home owner huge sums of money.

Terms, conditions, exclusions and excesses apply. Please refer to the relevant policy wording for full details.

What does Buildings Insurance typically cover?

Buildings insurance cover usually includes the structure, garages, outbuildings and exterior parts of the property, as well as permanent fixtures and fittings such as kitchens, bathrooms and fitted wardrobes.

Terms, conditions, exclusions and excesses apply. Please refer to the relevant policy wording for full details.

Are the structures in my garden and front lawn protected?

The majority of Buildings Insurance policies will also include cover on certain outdoor structures such as sheds, garages and greenhouses. Fences and gates may not be covered, so it's important to read your policy's small print.

The Swinton.co.uk Home Insurance policy includes £1,000 of garden cover as standard and £2,500 for thefts from outbuildings.

Terms, conditions, exclusions and excesses apply. Please refer to the relevant policy wording for full details.

What should my Buildings Insurance cover?

Terms, conditions, exclusions and excesses apply. Please refer to the relevant policy wording for full details.

How much Buildings Insurance do I need?

Keep in mind that you only need to insure the cost of rebuilding your home – not it's market value.

Buildings Insurance taken out through Swinton.co.uk offers £500,000 worth of buildings cover as standard in addition to the benefits above.

Terms, conditions, exclusions and excesses apply. Please refer to the relevant policy wording for full details.

Contents Insurance

From your furniture to your DVD collection, to cover all the items that you have in your home from loss, damage or theft you need Contents Insurance. Your first step should be to add up everything you own in your property; if it accumulates to a significant amount of money – then you know the level of contents cover you need.

Then there are two standard types of Contents Insurance to consider; an 'indemnity' policy is the cheaper option, which will take the wear and tear of a damaged or stolen item into account when paying out for an item so you may only receive a fraction of an items worth when you claim; the more complete choice is a 'new for old' policy, which would pay out the full amount for the item that needs replacing to the same quality as the item to be replaced.

Contents Insurance taken out through Swinton.co.uk are 'new for old' and offer £50,000 worth of contents cover as standard.

Terms, conditions, exclusions and excesses apply. Please refer to the relevant policy wording for full details.

Are all my contents definitely covered once I have Contents Insurance?

Be aware that certain insurance providers may not cover particularly high value products as standard, such things could include wedding rings and laptops, so it's important to check if such items need to be insured individually.

Home Insurance taken out through Swinton.co.uk can cover up to £15,000 worth of high risk items with an individual item limit of £2,500.

Terms, conditions, exclusions and excesses apply. Please refer to the relevant policy wording for full details.

Is Contents Insurance compulsory?

Only Buildings Insurance is compulsory with a mortgage, it is your choice whether to purchase Contents Insurance. However, it's important to bear in mind that you are always solely responsible for your home's contents, which means only you're at risk if your valued possessions are lost, damaged or stolen.

Am I covered if I damage my belongings by accident?

Some insurers offer limited accidental damage cover as standard but you'll have to pay more to cover all your belongings in the home. Be aware that the majority of policies will not cover portable computers and business equipment under accidental damage.

Home Insurance taken out through Swinton.co.uk offer free accidental damage cover to audio, visual and non-portable computer equipment, with the option to increase the accidental damage protection to cover other items within your home.

Terms, conditions, exclusions and excesses apply. Please refer to the relevant policy wording for full details.

Buildings and Contents Insurance

You can take out a combined Buildings and Contents Insurance policy to cover your property and your possessions. There are a number of benefits of doing this, as any claim would be dealt with by one insurer, and a combined policy could be cheaper. However, it's still always worth comparing quotes to ensure you get the best deal. You should also review both parts of your policy thoroughly to ensure both parts satisfy all your requirements.

Are my contents still covered if a burglar steals from my property without forcing access?

Your insurer may not pay out on your full claim under these circumstances, other situations that may lead to being refused a full pay out include leaving your burglar alarm off in the event of a robbery and failure to secure valuables in your garden area. You can find more information on making a Home Insurance claim here.

Terms, conditions, exclusions and excesses apply. Please refer to the relevant policy wording for full details.