Car insurance is a compulsory expense for anyone that wants to drive; homeowners however are not always required to have any form of house insurance to own a house.
Even though it's not always compulsory there are a number of reasons why you may want to consider home insurance.
There are two main types of home insurance, buildings insurance and house contents insurance.
Buildings insurance is what provides you with protection in case your home becomes damaged and needs repairing or rebuilding.
Our houses are very expensive and important assets.
Rebuilding or repairing your house can be very expensive, in fact it could end up being too expensive for you to afford.
Buildings insurance can be a way to limit this risk by fixing your costs.
If you have a mortgage then you may be required to have buildings insurance.
Contents insurance Contents insurance on the other hand is completely optional, rather than providing cover for the building and fixtures, contents insurance covers you for loss and damage to your personal belongings.
The house contents insurance will typically cover all of the items that are not part of your house, and will include your TV, computer, stereo, CD's, DVD's, and clothing.
You will only be covered up to a specific limit, and it's important to note that each category may have a certain limit.
For example you might only be able to claim £250 in cash, and £500 in jewellery.
Make sure that the policy provides plenty of cover.
Some policies will include accidental damage cover, while others won't.
If this is something that you might benefit from then make sure you bear it in mind when looking at different policies.
Most contents insurance policies will also include cover for items that you take out of the house such as laptop computers, and cameras.
If you were to lose your keys then the insurance should pay for a new set of locks to your house.
Some policies will also include cover when you are on holiday should you take anything with you.
It's important that you take note of the sum insured; this is the maximum payout that your insurer will pay should any of your belongings get stolen, damaged or destroyed.
The higher the sum insured, the more cover you have, but as a result your premiums will be much more expensive.
By calculating exactly how much you need insured you can reduce your costs as much as possible while making sure that you have enough cover.
It's a good idea to go in every room calculating how much value you have inside your home.
Being over insured is costly, and underinsured could end up costing even more.
There are two different types of contents insurance, new for old or indemnity policies.
Most people will choose new for old policies, and this is where the insurance stumps up the whole cost of replacing any missing items with brand new products.
If you choose an indemnity policy, which is also known as a wear and tear policy then your insurer will depreciate the value of your possessions every year when deciding how much to pay out.
These policies are often cheaper than normal policies because the cost of claims will be lower for the insurer.
They will however mean that you might not have enough money to replace your belongings with brand new items.
If you have any precious items in your home then it might be a good idea to insure them separately.
House contents insurance provides adequate cover for regular belongings, but anything like expensive jewellery or unique artworks might need to be insured separately.
Even though it's not always compulsory there are a number of reasons why you may want to consider home insurance.
There are two main types of home insurance, buildings insurance and house contents insurance.
Buildings insurance is what provides you with protection in case your home becomes damaged and needs repairing or rebuilding.
Our houses are very expensive and important assets.
Rebuilding or repairing your house can be very expensive, in fact it could end up being too expensive for you to afford.
Buildings insurance can be a way to limit this risk by fixing your costs.
If you have a mortgage then you may be required to have buildings insurance.
Contents insurance Contents insurance on the other hand is completely optional, rather than providing cover for the building and fixtures, contents insurance covers you for loss and damage to your personal belongings.
The house contents insurance will typically cover all of the items that are not part of your house, and will include your TV, computer, stereo, CD's, DVD's, and clothing.
You will only be covered up to a specific limit, and it's important to note that each category may have a certain limit.
For example you might only be able to claim £250 in cash, and £500 in jewellery.
Make sure that the policy provides plenty of cover.
Some policies will include accidental damage cover, while others won't.
If this is something that you might benefit from then make sure you bear it in mind when looking at different policies.
Most contents insurance policies will also include cover for items that you take out of the house such as laptop computers, and cameras.
If you were to lose your keys then the insurance should pay for a new set of locks to your house.
Some policies will also include cover when you are on holiday should you take anything with you.
It's important that you take note of the sum insured; this is the maximum payout that your insurer will pay should any of your belongings get stolen, damaged or destroyed.
The higher the sum insured, the more cover you have, but as a result your premiums will be much more expensive.
By calculating exactly how much you need insured you can reduce your costs as much as possible while making sure that you have enough cover.
It's a good idea to go in every room calculating how much value you have inside your home.
Being over insured is costly, and underinsured could end up costing even more.
There are two different types of contents insurance, new for old or indemnity policies.
Most people will choose new for old policies, and this is where the insurance stumps up the whole cost of replacing any missing items with brand new products.
If you choose an indemnity policy, which is also known as a wear and tear policy then your insurer will depreciate the value of your possessions every year when deciding how much to pay out.
These policies are often cheaper than normal policies because the cost of claims will be lower for the insurer.
They will however mean that you might not have enough money to replace your belongings with brand new items.
If you have any precious items in your home then it might be a good idea to insure them separately.
House contents insurance provides adequate cover for regular belongings, but anything like expensive jewellery or unique artworks might need to be insured separately.
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