Welcome to Williams Insurance Buildings Insurance Information

This information is offered only as a general guide.
For more detailed information please contact us.

Are you one of the 30 million people who paid through the nose
for your insurance last year?

Contrary to the myth that Contents insurance covers things like kitchen units and bathroom fittings, it is your Buildings Policy that takes care of claims in this area. In fact if your living room carpet is fixed to the floor you need to claim under your Buildings policy and not your Contents one.
In addition to the building itself, a building insurance policy covers permanent fixtures and fittings and most policies can be extended to cover such additional things as garages, garden sheds and greenhouses as well as your garden fencing, gates or walls.

Are you paying too much for your buildings insurance. Ask us for a quote.

Most policies cover you for:
Fire
Falling trees or branches
Theft
Subsidence
Lightning

Damage by water from tanks and pipes
Storm & flooding
Damage by oil from heating boilers
Malicious damage

What is the sum insured
The amount of money for which your home is insured. It is the total amount that an insurer will pay you in the event of a total loss. In calculating this figure you should cover the cost of re-building your home, include site clearance costs and architects fees, not just the price you paid for your home. You will need to adjust this amount each year in line with inflation unless you take out an index linked policy. This means that your sum insured is altered automatically each year at renewal.

What is not covered
As with most types of insurance there are limits and exclusions to every policy, and these vary from company to company. The first part of a claim is the excess and is the amount the policyholder has to contribute towards a claim. These will vary in size and may apply only to certain types of claim or all of them. The policy itself will list these. One excess that appears in all policies applies to damage caused by subsidence, and amounts to around £1,000. Exclusions are also made for such things as war risks, storm and "Act of God" events, sonic bangs and radioactive contamination.

It is the policyholders duty to minimise the claim if at all possible. To this end most policies cover temporary repairs to stop the damage getting worse, and some Insurance Companies provide a 24 hour emergency help line in order you may contact recommended tradesmen who will normally have insurers authority to carry out repairs up to a certain amount.