Buildings Insurance
Buildings Insurance covers the cost of repairing structural damage to your property.
Our buildings insurance protects everything structural from the roof to the floor.
What is Buildings Insurance?
Buildings insurance is designed to cover the cost of repairing damage or rebuilding the structure of your home if it is damaged or destroyed by a fire, flood or storm.
In most cases, roof, walls, floors and any permanent fixtures and fittings (or things that you can’t easily remove) such as kitchens and bathrooms will be covered under a building insurance policy. In the worst case scenario where your property needs to be rebuilt, the insurance policy can cover that. We can tailor your policy to suit you and your needs.
Do I Need Buildings Insurance?
Whilst it is not a legal requirement, often mortgage companies will insist that you take out a policy as a condition of the mortgage. Even if it is not a condition and you are a homeowner, we strongly advise that you have a home insurance policy. It will protect against a large financial outlay should anything happen structually to your property.
What Does Buildings Insurance Cover?
Buildings insurance covers the cost of any structural repair to your property.
Buildings insurance can cover the cost of any structural repairs to your home if it has been damaged by things such as:
- NFires and explosions
- NStorms/adverse weather
- NSubsidence
- NBurst pipes
- NActs of vandalism
- NBelongings away from home
Our in-house claims department
Here at A-One, we benefit from an in-house claims department. This means that should you need to make a claim on your policy, you will be appointed a dedicated claims handler to manage your claim from start to finish. Our handlers will bridge the gap between you, our client and your insurer and will work to achieve the best possible outcome on your behalf.
This means you’ll have one point of contact to manage your claim from start to finish.
Optional Extras
Cover can be tailored to meet your needs. You can add extras onto your policy to further enhance your protection. Here are a few examples:
- Legal Expenses
- Home Emergency
- Alternative Accommodation
- Key Cover
- Accidental Damage
- High Flood Risk Area
How Much Should I Insure My Property For?
This is an important factor to consider with buildings insurance. Often referred to as buildings sums insured, it is the cost of rebuilding your property should the worst happen. This should be considered carefully because if you underestimate, you could be severley out of pocket equally, if you overestimate you could end up paying more than necessary for your insurance policy.
The costs must take everything into account necessary to rebuild your property to its existing standard. There are few things to bear in mind when working out the estimated rebuild cost:
- 5Demolition and clear site of any existing structure
- 5Architect fees
- 5Planning submission costs
- 5Labour and materials
- 5Tradesmen such as electricians, plumbers and gas engineers
- 5Fixtures and fittings such as kitchens and bathrooms
There are reputable websites to help you calculate the rebuild cost of your property. The house rebuild cost calculator provided by The Building Cost Information Service (BCIS) of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is a good place to start. It is important to be as accurate as you can here.
We can also guide you through this process and help work out the cost to rebuild your property.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between buildings insurance and contents insurance?
Buildings insurance will cover anything structural – walls, floors, roofing etc. It will cover costs of any damage to your property through things such as fire, explosion, storms and flooding.
Contents insurance will cover the items inside your home. Cover protects against loss, theft or damage. For extra peace of mind, you can also choose to cover your personal items away from the home.
Do I need buildings insurance if I am living in a rental property?
It's unlikely simply because the building is the landlord’s responsibility and so they should arrange the cover. Instead, if you want financial protection for your possessions, you’ll need contents insurance. Check out our Tenants Insurance.
Do I have to get buildings insurance with my mortgage provider?
No. Mortgage providers can sometimes offer an insurance policy, but it is up to you if you would like to shop around and take a policy out elsewhere.
Do I need insurance for an unoccupied property?
Yes, absoloutley. Take a look at our unoccupied property page for more information.