There are two basic types of home insurance.  These are contents insurance and buildings insurance.  When you take out a mortgage, you will be required by the lender to take out buildings insurance, but not necessarily with the provider they recommend or suggest.

Buildings insurance protects the lender as well as yourself against a disaster such as fire, flood, or subsidence damaging the property so badly that it needs to be rebuilt from scratch, with the sum insured for being the cost of doing this.

Contents insurance is not compulsory but most property owners take it out to protect their movable possessions against theft and accidental damage.  It usually also covers items such as cameras and jewellery when they are taken outside of the property on a regular basis.  It normally does not cover items taken away on holiday, and this will require separate travel insurance.

The basic buildings and contents policies are adaptable to particular circumstances, with options available to cover items not included in the standard policy, although this will entail a higher premium in most cases.

Contents home insurance comes in two forms, as either indemnity or new-for-old cover.  Indemnity is cheaper but only replaces items with those of a similar age and type, whereas new-for-old replaces them with brand new items.

Contents and buildings insurance overlap a little, with for example the window broken by a burglar covered by buildings insurance and the items stolen covered by contents insurance.