Home insurance - Your questions answered

We can transcribe your documentation, letters and schedules using the following alternative formats:

• Braille
• Large print
• Audio
• Tactile
• Audiobook

If you would like us to do this for you, contact Customer Services on 0345 777 3322.

Visit the Association of British Insurers (ABI) website. This will help you to calculate the rebuild cost of your property.

We can still offer a quote if your property is listed. You will need to tell us which Grade the building is.

Over 15 years ago

We would need to see an up-to-date structural engineers report - completed within the last three years. We will review the report before we decide if we can offer a quote.

Less than 15 years ago

We are not able to offer a quote for your property.

If the work taking place is in excess of £25,000, complete our Home building works questionnaire and send it back to us.

If the work taking place will be less than £25,000, please tell us so we can add a note to your policy.

Damage caused by storm or flood to fences, hedges or gates will only be covered if the main building, garage or outbuilding is damaged at the same time.

We will cover the reasonable and necessary costs, as long as we have agreed them with you, to:

• locate the source of leaking water or oil from any fixed water or heating system in your home
• repair any damage caused in locating the source of the leak.

If there is a gradual cause such as wear and tear, the cost of replacing the part and any labour is not included. The most we will pay is £5,000 for each leak.

Home Emergency cover is included as standard with your home insurance policy. DAS Legal Expenses Insurance Company Limited handle these claims on our behalf and you can use this for roof damage, plumbing and drainage, your main heating system, the domestic power supply, the toilet unit, home security or vermin.

If you need to make a claim under this section of the policy, call DAS on 0345 268 8469

If you lose the keys to your home, they are stolen, or there is accidental damage to the locks of the outside doors or windows, we will pay for reasonable and necessary costs of:

• gaining access to your home
• repairing or replacing the locks

This is optional cover and is provided under the Portable items section of our policy. This covers any items that you take away from your home (including holidays) such as mobile phones (handset only), laptops, camera equipment or jewellery.

Any items that you take away from your home that are valued over £3,500 will need to be specified on the policy individually.

Cover is provided for your portable items anywhere in the world up to 90 days in total during the period of insurance.

Valuables include jewellery and precious metals, clocks and watches, furs, pictures and works of art, stamp, coin and medal collections.

Yes, up to £1,000 personal money cover is included.

Personal money means bank notes and coins that are not part of a collection, cheques, postal orders, bank drafts, travel tickets, traveller’s cheques, postage stamps, savings stamps and certificates and premium bonds.

The cover also applies for up to 90 days in any one period of insurance, elsewhere in the world.

Yes, all apart from household linen and clothing.

We will pay 50% of the cost of replacing undamaged items which form part of:

• a pair;
• a set, collection or suite; or
• a matching or uniform design, nature or colour,

with an item that has suffered from damage that is covered under the buildings or contents section of the policy.

The contents in your freezer will be covered up to your contents sum insured.

We can provide cover, if you request it, under your contents policy for small boats (measuring less than 5 metres and not having a top speed over 15 knots), craft, surfboard or a sailboard.

If you need cover contact us on 0345 777 3322.

Yes. The contents in these buildings will be automatically covered up to £5,000.

If you've opted for this cover then it is provided under the Portable items section of our policy. This will cover any items that you take away from your home and on holiday so can cover mobile phones (handset only), laptops, camera equipment or jewellery.

Any items that you take away from your home that are valued over £3,500 will need to be specified on the policy individually. Cover is provided for your portable items anywhere in the world up to 90 days in total during the period of insurance

If your bike is under £750 it's automatically covered under the policy. If your bike is worth more than £750 then this will need to be specified on the policy individually and will need to be locked to a permanent fixture whilst kept in an outbuilding.

If you take your bike away from home you'll need to ensure you have opted for the Portable items element of the policy and your bike will need to be locked to a permanent fixture when it is unattended.  No cover is provided if you are using your bike while racing.

If your son/daughter stays at your property during university breaks then they will be covered for their contents. The most we will pay for contents whilst in the student accommodation is £5,000 in any one period of insurance. No cover is provided for your son/daughters contents in the student accommodation for loss or damage caused by theft to items away from your home unless force is used to get into or out of a building.

As long as you have Portable items cover under your policy then any items your son/daughter takes away from their student accommodation will be covered. The Portable items sum insured will need to be sufficient to cover the whole family. Please note that if there is more than one child at university then the £5,000 is split between them.

We can provide cover, if you request it, under your contents policy for small boats (measuring less than 5 metres and not having a top speed over 15 knots), craft, surfboard or a sailboard.

If you need cover contact us on 0345 777 3322.

If you make a change in your policy cover and this results in a charge or refund of premium for the period up to the renewal date of the policy, then such a charge or refund will only be made by us if exceeding £15 plus insurance premium tax.

We do not make an administration charge for processing any changes you need.

We do offer a no claims discount on our policy to reward customers who are claim free. We offer a maximum of five years no claims discount but if a claim is made on the policy this is reduced to nil.

For every year you then remain claim free, you will be able to build this back up to the maximum of five years.

This will not reduce the premium, however some properties may be in an area that needs you to meet certain security requirements. We will be able to tell you this.

This will not reduce the premium in any way but we will note our records to show that there is a neighbourhood watch scheme in place.

Yes. If you carry out some voluntary work for the church, then we are able to offer a discount for this.

An excess is the amount that you pay towards a claim. Under our policies the excesses are £1,000 for subsidence, £250 for any claim for escape of water or oil and £75 for any other standard claim. We do have the option to add on voluntary excesses which would be added to the already existing excesses.

Standard cover will cover your property and/or contents for the perils noted in the policy document, e.g. fire, storm, flood and subsidence.

Accidental damage cover will provide cover for your property and/or contents for any damage caused accidently, for example, spilling paint onto a carpet or putting a hammer through a wall whilst carrying out some DIY.

Accidental Damage is an ‘add-on’ which means it is entirely your choice to have this optional extra.

Home insurance policies are designed to cover sudden and unexpected identifiable events such as fire or flooding to your home.

Wear and tear, however, naturally happens to all properties and possessions over time, and as such you will find wear and tear is not covered on most insurance policies.

The cost of maintaining your property or contents or replacing items due to wear and tear is not covered by our policy.

There are a few simple things you can do to prevent wear and tear causing you a problem:

• Check your property regularly
• Ensure you carry out routine maintenance
• Fix problems as soon as they arise.

Using your property to carry out clerical duties in relation to your work is automatically covered.

We also provide cover for your computers and their accessories, office equipment and office furniture, used only for clerical and administrative use up to £10,000. We do not provide any cover for your business stock.

If you have visitors to your property, or if there is any other form of business use, please contact us and we will be happy to discuss this with you.

Yes. We have legal expenses cover included under your household policy. DAS Legal Expenses Insurance Company Limited handle these claims on our behalf and there is a limit of £50,000. DAS are also able to help on any legal advice or issue that you may have.

If you feel like you need legal assistance, please call DAS on 0345 268 8469.

Yes. There is liability cover included on your policy automatically up to a limit of £2,000,000.

If your home cannot be lived in because of damage covered by your policy, we will pay 20% of the sum insured to help you with reasonable and necessary costs of your temporary accommodation (see policy document for full details).

Yes. We have a 60 day limit on the policy. After 60 days the cover on the policy may change and so we will need to know if the property will be unoccupied.

We can offer a policy to cover your let property but this is not a specific commercial landlord’s policy.

The cover does not include loss of rent or rehoming the tenants should they no longer be able to reside at the property.

The Legal expenses section does not cover adverse possession.

No. We are able to offer new business quotations to all members of the public as well as clergy members.

No. You will need to call the previous insurers and cancel the policy.