Home Insurance

Company	Description
Quotezone	Quotezone's UK Home and/or Contents Quote System saves you time and money. You just have to fill in your details once, and you will many quotes back from reputable insurers such as Magnet Insurance, Direct Choice, Homequote Direct, 1st Quote, and Homeprotect.  For most companies, you will see the quotes appear online in around 60 seconds.
Magnet Home Insurance	If you have not claimed on your home insurance in the last 4 years, Magnet is particularly competitive.
Tesco home insurance	Tesco gives 35% discount online in the first year. Services include a 24hr household emergency helpline and you can use Tesco Clubcard vouchers towards the price of your premium.
Direct Line Home Insurance
Churchill Home Insurance	Winner of Your Money 2005 Best Direct Home and Contents Insurance Provider.
Saga	is the UK's leading specialist insurer for today's over 50s, offering high levels of cover and traditional service. Over one million people now insure their property and possessions with Saga Home Insurance.
Swinton	Quality contents and buildings insurance at a low cost. Tailored policies to suit your requirements.

Things to consider when buying home insurance

Not all insurance is equal and the cheapest quote is not always the best. Always consider the following when comparing home insurance quotes:

Brokers versus direct insurers

Most of the home insurance sites listed on DontShopAlone.co.uk are brokers rather than direct insurers. If you have an unusual property, a broker will often find you the best deal, because most of the direct insurers prefer to play safe and insure standard houses. Brokers are however middlemen and as such, take a share of insurance premium. A direct insurer can potentially therefore, offer lower prices.

If you are in a hurry, using a broker can save time as they will compare several companies for lowest prices. Don't imagine however that any broker is going to look a the entire market. Each broker will only have agencies with a limited panel of insurers. If you have time, we suggest that you try more than one of the insurers in our list before buying.

Decide on the level of excess

"Excess" is the part of any claim that you will have to pay yourself and if you rarely make claims and just want the cheapest home insurance, you could opt for the maximum excess. You will sometimes be asked to choose the level of "voluntary excess". This may be additional to the standard excess or it may be instead of the standard excess. Check the terms carefully.

What is the difference between buildings and contents?

As an approximate guide, if you were to turn your home upside down, everything that fell out would be your contents, and most of what remains would be buildings.

What is accidental damage cover?

On most policies, accidental damage is a optional extra. You may however, find that the standard contents cover includes accidental damage to items such as radios, television sets, audio equipment, mirrors and fixed glass. Buildings cover sometimes includes as standard, accidental damage to underground pipes and cables, fixed glass, baths, shower trays, and sinks.

You will almost always need to take out extra accidental damage cover for soft furnishings such as carpets, curtains and sofas. If you spill a glass of red wine on your carpet, for example, this will generally only be covered if you have chosen the "accidental damage" option.

How much should I insure my home for?

For Contents, you need to consider how much it would cost to replace all of the possessions within your home. For some categories such as jewellery and antiques, the insurer will normally ask for a separate figure and will usually ask you to list items above a certain value individually. The sum insured for "General Contents" should exclude sums insured specified elsewhere.

For Buildings the sum insured must be enough to cover the cost of rebuilding your home. You should also add on an extra amount to cover demolition costs, architects and surveyor's fees.

New for Old

If a policy provides "New for Old" cover, the insurer will replace items you are claiming for with ones of the same or similar specification. Claims for clothing and household linen will be subject to deductions for wear and tear.

Do I need to specify my computer?

The standard contents cover usually includes accidental damage occurring in the home to computers, unless it's a portable type like a laptop or palmtop. In this case you will need to take Personal Belongings cover if you want it to be covered for accidental damage.

What are valuables?

Valuables include :

• Coin, stamp, medal collections
• Pictures and other works of art
• Items of gold, silver and other precious metals
• Jewellery and furs
• Antiques (not including furniture), collectibles and watches

Standard cover usually includes valuables up to a certain level. Most home insurance policies require that you provide a list of items valued above a certain figure.

Are items covered outside the home?

Items taken outside the home will be covered under the "Personal Belongings" section of the policy. This is sometimes referred to as the "All Risks" section. This generally includes:

• jewellery
• money
• credit cards
• luggage
• clothing
• sports and musical equipment

You will usually be required to provide a list of any items above a certain value.

Legal Protection

Legal Protection cover is generally an optional extra and will fund the costs of pursuing legal action for you and your family.

For example:
If you were unfortunate enough to be involved in a Road Traffic Accident which was not your fault and you suffered injuries, Legal Services will provide you with up to a specified value to pursue legal action. This will remove the need to search for a Solicitor or enter into a "No Win No Fee" arrangement as you will already have cover in place to provide the legal representation you need. The damages recovered will not be subject to any deductions and you will not be liable for any legal costs or fees.

No Claims Discount

No claims discount (NCD) was unusual on home insurance until a few years ago although most insurers now offer it. NCD varies considerably but If you are able to show that you have not made a claim recently, you should be able to get up to 50% discount for 5 years or more claims free on your contents insurance. The discount on buildings insurance will generally be lower.

Student Contents Cover

The Personal Belongings of family members at university may still be covered by your policy if they are still living with you outside of term time. You should check your policy carefully however, as this is not always the case.

Contents cover often includes "contents temporarily removed" up to a specified limit and this would cover contents which have been temporarily removed from your home into accommodation where a member of your household is temporarily living (for example while they are studying or working away from home). Limitations probably apply and you should read your policy carefully to ensure that you understand the cover provided.

If in doubt, contact the insurer for advice.

Business use

If you are using your home for business use, you may need special cover. Contact the insurer if in doubt.

Garden tools and furniture

Standard household policies will generally cover garden equipment up to a specified sum insured.

Home Emergency Cover

While your home insurance policy should cover the residual damage caused by, say, a leaking radiator, it would not cover the cost of a plumber to come out and fix the leak itself. Or the cost of any parts he uses in the process.

If you want this covered, you will need "Home emergency cover" which can be added to most policies at an additional charge.