What does home insurance cover?
Home insurance protects your property and belongings against sudden, unexpected events – things like fire, flood, storm damage and theft. It’s there to give you peace of mind that if something goes badly wrong, you won’t be left footing the bill on your own.
Most home insurance policies are made up of two main parts: buildings insurance, which covers the structure of your home, and contents insurance, which covers the things you keep inside it. You can take out both together as a combined policy, or each one separately.
This guide explains what each type of cover includes, what’s typically excluded, the optional add-ons worth knowing about, and how to choose the right level of cover.
What does buildings insurance cover?
Buildings insurance covers the physical structure of your home – the parts you’d leave behind if you moved.
That includes:
The walls, roof, floors, windows and doors
Permanent fixtures like fitted kitchens and bathrooms
Outbuildings like garages, sheds and garden walls
Cover kicks in for damage caused by fires, storms, subsidence or floods. If your home’s damaged or destroyed by one of these events, buildings insurance pays up to the full rebuild cost of your property, not its market value.
One thing worth knowing: wooden floors fall under buildings insurance, while carpets fall under contents insurance. It’s a good example of why reading your policy documents carefully really matters. These distinctions aren’t always obvious, and you don’t want to discover a gap in your cover when you need to make a claim.
For a deeper look at what buildings cover includes, check out our insurance guide.
What does contents insurance cover?
Contents insurance protects the things inside your home, rather than the building itself. Think of it as cover for everything you’d pack up and take with you if you moved.
That covers a lot of ground! But here are some examples:
Furniture, carpets, curtains and some appliances
Electronics like your TV, laptop and speakers
Clothes, bags and those sparkly cowboy boots you’ve still not worn
Jewellery and watches (these often come with a single-item limit, so it’s worth checking your policy)
Things kept in outbuildings or the garden, usually up to a set limit
If your belongings are stolen or damaged – whether that’s because of a break-in or an accident at home – your contents insurance can cover the cost of repairing or replacing them.
Are my belongings covered if I take them outside of my home?
Personal possessions cover (sometimes called ‘out of home’ cover) protects the items you take outside the house. It’s usually an optional add-on rather than something included as standard. It covers things like your phone, laptop and handbag when you’re out and about, and may extend to cover you while you’re on holiday abroad. Like most types of cover, it comes with single-item limits and an excess.
What’s not covered by home insurance?
Home insurance covers sudden, unexpected damage, but there are common home insurance exclusions worth knowing about before you take out a policy:
Wear and tear and gradual damage: if your roof has been slowly deteriorating over the years, that’s unlikely to be covered. Home insurance is designed for sudden events, not long-term decline.
Poor maintenance: if damage happens because a known problem wasn’t dealt with, your insurer may refuse a claim. Keeping your home well-maintained really does matter.
Accidental damage: things like spilling a coffee on your sofa or drilling through a pipe aren’t automatically included in most standard policies – you’d need to add accidental damage cover separately.
Pests: damage caused by rats, mice or insects isn’t typically covered.
Mechanical or electrical breakdown: if your boiler stops working because it’s old or faulty, that’s usually excluded from a home insurance policy.
Always read your policy documents carefully so you know exactly what’s covered, and what isn’t.
What optional home insurance add-ons can I get?
Most home insurance policies let you customise your cover with add-ons, so you only pay for what you actually need. Common options include:
Accidental damage cover: extends your buildings and contents cover to include unintentional damage. This can be useful if you have young children (or you’re really clumsy).
Home emergency cover: provides round-the-clock support for urgent problems like a broken boiler, burst pipe or blocked drain.
Legal expenses cover: covers legal costs if you need to take action over property-related disputes.
Out of home cover: protects valuables like your phone, laptop and jewellery when you take them outside of your home. High-value items – those worth over £1,000 – often need to be listed individually on your policy.
How much home insurance cover do I need?
Getting the level of cover right is important. Here’s what to think about when working out how much home insurance you need:
For buildings cover, make sure you insure for the full rebuild cost of your home, not its market value. These can be very different figures. Your mortgage provider may be able to help you work this out.
For contents cover, add up what it would cost to replace everything you own. It’s easy to underestimate this – going room by room helps make sure you don’t miss anything.
For single-item limits and excess, check that high-value items are covered up to their full replacement value, and make sure you’re comfortable with the excess amount – this is the amount you’d pay towards any claim yourself.
Get a quote for Monzo home insurance
Monzo current account required and must be open for the whole insured period. Underwritten by Chubb. UK residents 18+. Ts&Cs, excess and exclusions apply.
Questions? Answers.
Is home insurance a legal requirement?
Home insurance isn’t a legal requirement in the UK. But if you have a mortgage, your lender will almost certainly require you to have buildings insurance in place. Even if it’s not compulsory, cover protects you from potentially significant costs if something goes seriously wrong.
What’s the difference between buildings and contents insurance?
Buildings insurance covers the structure of your home: the walls, roof, floors, windows and permanent fixtures like fitted kitchens. Contents insurance covers the things inside your home: your furniture, electronics, clothes and personal items. You can take out both separately, or as a combined policy.
Does home insurance cover accidental damage?
Not automatically. Most standard policies exclude accidental damage, but you can usually add it as an optional extra. It’s worth considering if you want cover for things like knocking over your television or breaking a window by mistake.
Does home insurance cover damp and mould?
Generally, no. Damp and mould are usually treated as gradual damage or the result of poor maintenance, which falls outside the scope of a standard home insurance policy.
Do I need home insurance if I rent?
If you rent, buildings insurance is your landlord’s responsibility – not yours. But you might still want contents insurance to protect your own belongings, like furniture, electronics and clothing, as your landlord’s insurance won’t cover these. Read our article about insuring your home as a renter.