Home Insurance

All about home insurance

• What is home insurance?

  As one of the biggest and most expensive purchases of your life, your home provides your shelter and will be filled with cherished possessions. Nobody wants to think about their own home and personal items being affected by fire, adverse weather, unexpected damage or theft. However, by insuring your home you can stay protected from the unexpected.

  No two homes or living situations are the same, so it's important that you take the time to apply for the correct type of home insurance for an appropriate level of cover. Whether you live in your own home, rent from a landlord or act as a landlord for tenants in your property, your policy requirements will differ from others.

  Unlike vehicle insurance, it's not a legal requirement to have any home insurance policy in place, whether for the building, contents or both. However, without insurance for your property, you run the risk of losing out financially if your home or possessions become damaged or destroyed. That said, if you're responsible for paying off a mortgage, having a buildings insurance policy will often be a necessary requirement for your lender.

• Choosing between buildings and contents insurance

  Home insurance generally comes in two main strands: buildings insurance and contents insurance. These can be bought separately or together as a combined premium, focusing on covering the physical structure of the property as well as valuable items inside.

  The annual cost of insurance will inevitably vary from home to home, person to person, but average costs indicate that policies for combined buildings and contents insurance can range from around £130 - £180 per year. Individual policies will obviously be lower than this, but getting both together in a combined policy can help to make a significant saving.

• Tips to keep your home insurance premium down

  Improving your home security will help to keep the cost of your premium low. This includes ensuring that external doors and ground floor windows are fitted with appropriate locks, perhaps installing a security system and even joining a Neighbourhood Watch scheme if one is active in your area.

  Fitting smoke alarms on each floor and ensuring these are tested regularly will help to lower the cost of your premium, as well as conducting other regular maintenance of the property to avoid potential accidents. Insulating pipes may prevent them from freezing and bursting in the winter, while keeping guttering free of leaves and foliage will keep them from clogging up and potentially causing the risk of flooding.

  Options relating to your insurance policy can also affect the cost of your premium, such as increasing your voluntary excess or choosing to pay the annual premium upfront rather than in monthly instalments. This will come down to a matter of preference for you as to what you feel comfortable with depending on your financial situation.

• Why choose Arkwright?

  At Arkwright Insurance, we remain dedicated to finding you the best possible quote for insuring your home and possessions. By supplying all the relevant details using our online quote builder, you can receive a competitive quote from us that's specifically tailored towards your situation and requirements.

  Whether it's the first time you're looking for a quote, received a larger quote elsewhere, or you're facing a large renewal cost from your current provider, Arkwright are committed to finding a better quote under the same criteria.

  Click the "Get a quote" button to get started using our online quote builder, or alternatively call our team on 01204 392 525 to directly discuss the specifics of insuring your home and its contents.

   

  For further information on the details of buildings and contents cover, as well as the different types of home that may require specialist insurance, please click on one of the options below.