Home insurance explained
13 December 2018
Understanding home insurance can seem complicated but it doesn’t need to be. We’ve broken down our cover into some easy-to-understand sections to help you understand what we can cover and our limits.
Garages and outbuildings
Our buildings insurance includes cover for outbuildings including sheds and garages provided they are included in the buildings value you give us. The contents section of your home insurance will also cover contents in these buildings (excluding motor vehicles) provided they are properly secured when not in use (a padlock on your shed or a lock on your garage door).
Terms to be aware of:
- Let us know if you will be away for more than 60 days - if the home is left unoccupied for more than 60 days, we can no longer cover; theft, vandalism and damage caused by escape of water.
- We have a limit of £5,000 on claims for theft and attempted theft.
Personal belongings insurance
Our home contents insurance section will provide cover for your personal possessions while they are in your home. You can extend this cover to include items you take away from home anywhere in the world, for up to 90 days at any one time.
- Up to £3,500 of cover in any period of insurance.
Terms to be aware of:
- We make a deduction for wear and tear of clothing.
- You should make us aware of any items you would like to insure which are worth more than £3,500.
Valuables and jewellery
Our home insurance policy includes cover for valuables such as jewellery, gold or silver, clocks, watches, furs, works of art, stamps, coins or medal collections whilst in your home.
Although jewellery insurance is included in your policy as standard, you still need to think about what your valuables might be worth. Unique or particularly valuable items may need extra insurance or special terms.
Standard cover includes:
- Up to £10,000 for 1 or 2 bedroom properties
- Up to £15,000 for 3 bedroom properties
- Up to £20,000 for 4 or 5 bedroom properties.
You should let us know if any one item or collection is worth £3,500 or more. If you have chosen your own sums insured for your contents, you should let us know if any one item or collections comes to more than 35% of your total contents sum insured.
It’s always best to keep proof of purchase, photographs and any legal documents which help to prove ownership of these items in case of a claim.
Office equipment
Home office equipment such as audio and visual electronic equipment, keyboards, monitors, printers and photocopiers can be covered up to £10,000 in total.
If you are running a business from your home, or storing business stock on the premises, it is unlikely that standard home insurance will be able to provide adequate cover. Let us know if you are unsure whether cover would apply for your circumstances.
Garden contents insurance
For those with green fingers, don’t forget the items you want to protect in your garden. You might have hundreds of pounds worth of garden trees, plants and shrubs which could be damaged or stolen.
We cover individual items in the garden up to £250 up to a total of £2,500.
Just be aware - we exclude damage caused by storm or flood, frost, weight of snow or damage by animals.
Cover for bicycles
We provide up to £750 cover for any one pedal cycle provided you do your best to make it secure.
Terms to be aware of:
You should not leave your pedal cycle simply in your garden, this will not be covered by our insurance. Unattended bicycles should be stored indoors or securely locked to a permanent fixture.
Get a quote
Speak to one of our team who will be happy to help:
0345 777 3322
Lines are open 8am – 6pm, Monday to Friday.
(Calls to 03 numbers are typically charged at no more than local rate)
household@ecclesiastical.com
Get a quote online
For full terms and conditions, features and exclusions, please read our home insurance policy wording or call our team on 0345 7773322.