House & Home Insurance Cover

As with many other things, the internet has revolutionised the way in which people buy insurance. Curiously insurance companies were very slow indeed to embrace the internet. However, they have done so now and more and more consumer insurance business (ie insurance for the man or woman on the street) is being transacted online. Many people, in fact, think that within a few years the sale of nearly all consumer insurance products will occur on the net.

Here are the main ways to buy a household insurance policy:

1. Go direct to an insurance company

If you want to you can go directly to an insurance company to buy a policy
- either in person, by phone or over the internet. Some people do this because a friend has recommended a particular insurance company or because they have been influenced by advertising on the television or the radio.

It would be rare, however, to find either the cheapest or the best insurance deal by this means since going direct to a single insurance company does not allow you to compare either the price they are quoting or the other key terms of their policy with what else is on offer in the market. So unless there are very specific reasons for doing so (for instance if you want a company that specialised in, say, high value contents insurance) going direct to an insurance company is unlikely to provide you with the best deal available

2. Use a broker

Traditionally many people have used insurance brokers tobuy buildings and contents insurance. Using a broker has several advantages. First brokers know the insurance market extremely well and can therefore save you a lot of time. Second they are sometimes able to unearth attractive deals which are not otherwise easily obtainable. Third they can provide valuable advice and guide you towards the right type of policy.

Naturally brokers charge a fee though more often than not this is 'lost' in the insurance premium you pay (ie not separately identified). If you use a broker you should insist on knowing what this fee is. You should also insist on knowing whether the broker has any links with any of the companies he is recommending.It isnot uncommon for a broker to recommend a particularinsurance product without disclosing the fact that there are commercial links between the broker and the insurance provider in question.

As the internet evolves the role of the insurance broker is arguably becoming less relevant. In fact if your insurance needs are fairly standard you are probablyadvised to buy a policy direct from the internet (albeit having consulted a broker first if you want to). If, on the other hand, your requirements are unusual or more complicated thenusing a broker is still probably worthwhile.

3. Use the internet

As referred to above, the internet has revolutionised the way in which insurance is bought and sold. It is now possible to review literally hundreds of competing insurance products at the click of a mouse and compare both price and content. One consequence of this has been that insurance companies have had to reduce their prices
- or at least
- large price differentials for the same product since it is now so easy to compare what is on offer in the market place.

So unless you have very specific or unusual requirements or simply want advice, in most cases it makes sense to go to the internet to buy household insurance.

How to buy buildings and contents insurance

Once you have selected the way in which you wish to purchase your policy you will need to fill out an application form. These will obviously vary from one insurance company to another but, in general terms, you will be asked to supply the following information:

You will be asked to confirm:
- that your home is your permanent residence
- that it is in good repair
- that it is not used for business purposes
- that it is occupied
- whether you have ever made any previous claims on a household insurance policy
- whether you have ever been refused insurance
- whether you have any convictions

And then to provide details on your home such as:
- address (your postcode plays an important part in the cost of the policy
- see our 'Cost' page for more)
- the date the property was built
- what type of property it is (flat, house, detached, semi detached etc)
- the number of bedrooms you have (curiously some insurers will not provide a quote if you have too many!)
- what the property is made of
- what sort ofsecurity you have (eg alarms, window locks etc)
- whether you own the property and whether or not you have a mortgage
- how many people live in the property

Finally you will be asked to specify the amount of cover you require and what sort of voluntary excess figure you wish to have. In the case of buildings insurance the insurance company will typically specify the amount of cover required based on their computer records of the likely rebuilding costs of your property. In the case of contents insurance you will need to specify the value of the possessions in your home.

Bear in mind that you do not need to buy buildings insurance and contents insurance from the same insurance company. Most insurance companies will try to get you to buy both and often 'staple' the two together. But don't be put off by this.