Home insurance

Home insurance protects the building you own, the things you own inside it, or both. 

Protection for the physical structure of a building is called buildings insurance. Covering the things inside it is called contents insurance. And, of course, you can choose to cover both. 

Once covered, if something unfortunate happens like a flood or theft, you can make a claim on your policy to cover the costs. 

Home insurance covers damage done to your home or the things inside it. This can include accidents and thefts. The money you receive from your home insurance policy can be used to mend any damage or replace items lost. 

Buildings insurance covers the physical structure, including its plumbing and electrical systems.  

Contents insurance protects your belongings inside that aren’t part of its permanent structure.  

You can add extra cover for even more peace of mind. For instance, we offer family legal protection, home emergency and accidental damage cover. Extra costs may apply. 

Defaqto is a leading financial information, ratings and financial technology business. They provide unbiased Star Ratings to help customers make better informed decisions on which services to buy. Defaqto rate every product on the market on a scale of 1 to 5 Stars. A 1 Star product covers the basics, a 5 Star product is one of the most comprehensive on the market. 

• 1 Star: a basic product, with a low level of features and benefits. 
• 2 Star: a product typically offering a below average range of features and benefits. 
• 3 Star: a standard product providing an average level of features and benefits. 
• 4 Star: a product with a good level of features and benefit. 
• 5 Star: an excellent product with a comprehensive range of features and benefits. 

No. Your policy doesn't have cover for anything that happens gradually. This includes damage to electrical and domestic appliances caused by them breaking down. 

Home maintenance is important and it's your responsibility to look after your building and contents. Your policy’s designed to only cover you for things that you didn't know would happen.   

We try to make life as simple as possible for you. To help you decide which cover is right for you, we suggest you have a think about the value of your house and contents. This doesn’t have to be hard work – though you might want to make a list of the things you own and add up the total values. It needn’t be to the penny, but it should be as accurate as possible. 

If you own items that could have changed in value over the years, such as artwork, antiques, musical instruments and jewellery, it’s a good idea to get a professional to value them. 

An excess on any insurance policy is an amount you’ll need to pay when you make a claim. There are two kinds of excess: voluntary and compulsory. Voluntary excess is an amount you choose to pay, while a compulsory excess is one that you have to pay if you want to make a claim. The total excess in the event of a claim will be the combination of the two. 

Your excess may be taken from your insurance claim payout. For instance, if you have an excess of £1,000 and make a claim for £5,000, your insurer may retain £1,000 of the payout and give you £4,000. 

Accidental Damage is an extra level of cover you can add to your home insurance, and is separate from damage included on your main policy. Your policy will already cover you for damage caused by a storm, fire, flood or theft and attempted theft. 

Accidental damage is classed as sudden, unexpected harm done to your building or contents unintentionally. It's damage done by you or someone in your house. This could be accidentally drilling through a pipe when doing DIY, for instance. Or, in the case of contents insurance, it could be knocking a glass of red wine onto a carpet. 

You’ll need to add Accidental Damage cover at the same time you buy your policy, it can’t be added on at a later date. Only you can decide if you want or need Accidental Damage cover.  Accidental Damage comes as standard with our Gold product. 

Please remember to consider your compulsory and voluntary policy excess before you make any Accidental Damage claim. This is because the claim for damage is often worth less than the excess amount. 

There's no legal requirement to have home insurance in the UK. But mortgage lenders may ask you to get buildings insurance before they will lend you money. 

It means that your policy will renew automatically when your policy comes up for renewal next year. It’s a convenient, stress-free way of staying insured. We’ll send a reminder 28 days before your renewal date so you can check the details, and make sure you are still happy to go ahead.  

Please look at your policy summary as the information on this document is specific to you. It includes your personal and property details, the cover you’ve purchased, the cost of your insurance, your chosen method of payment, any excesses applicable and if you’re set up to auto renew, or not. 

You can update your auto renew preference in several ways. Call our contact centre on 03334 439 850 or go onto the Self Service Centre. You can email homeinsurance@postoffice.co.uk. Or write to Post Office Insurance Services, Fountain Court, 119 Grange Road, Middlesbrough TS1 2DT. Please be ready to quote your home insurance policy number which begins with an H followed by digits. 

If you pay by monthly instalments, you'll be charged for the credit, and this is indicated by the (variable) APR%. Premium Credit Limited (PCL) may also charge a £5 fee which covers their operating costs of affordability and anti-money laundering checks. This means you will pay more for a monthly payment plan than you would for an annual lump sum arrangement.  

PCL are a third-party finance provider. They’re appointed by Post Office Insurance to provide credit to our customers who’d like to pay monthly by direct debit for their home insurance. You can contact PCL on 03447 369 820.  

Ageas Insurance Limited are appointed by Post Office Insurance as the underwriter of our main Post Office Home Insurance product. Ageas also handle the customer claims journey.  

DAS Legal Expenses Insurance Company Limited underwrite and provide the Family Legal Protection (FLP) and Home Emergency (HE) insurance cover, offered to Post Office Home Insurance customers. They also provide the Legal Helplines service. 

Taking in Ukrainian refugees won’t affect your existing home insurance. We define them as a family member, not guest or lodger. So there’s no need to contact us. 

The only exception is if they’ll need cover for any high-value personal possessions (like jewellery), inside or outside your home, while staying with you.  

Our team’s happy to answer any questions. Call 0333 4439 850 Monday to Friday 8am-8pm, Saturday 9am-5pm and Sunday 10am-4pm.