House Insurance

House insurance or home owners insurance combines not only the building, but also the contents as well as personal possessions of the owners. Some insurance policies also include liability cover for accidents that happen in the home. A home insurance policy can be very complicated as it covers many aspects and possibilities due to the fact that the policy can be extensive.

The basis for an insurance company to calculating the premium is based initially on the cost of replacing or rebuilding the house, so it will go up as the value of the property increases. Then it will be based on the value of the contents weighed up with the security measures put in place to protect the home from theft or damage. For instance a property with good door locks, window locks and a burglar alarm will be cheaper to insure than a house with little protection. On a home insurance policy it is vital that any valuables that are within the house or a personal possession of the owner are listed for the insurance company with an associated value, otherwise a claim will be difficult to make for an expensive item that they have not been informed about. It is usual that a monetary figure will be set for the contents, which is based on averages, and that single high value items are added separately.

It does also depend on the position of the house geographically as insurance companies are getting more and more strict when it comes to insuring homes that lie on flood plains due to the recent climate changes seen in the UK. Other areas of damage that are generally not covered are natural disasters or wars as insurance companies are unable to calculate the risk or damage caused by these events.