After the storms and floods, which cost insurers an estimated GBP2.5 billion in claims, building insurance rates could go up by a lot. This is making people worried because a lot of homeowners could be forced to buy insurance in a hurry without reading the fine print.
One way that people are tricked into thinking that their premiums are low is by adding a big deductible. This means that the person would have to pay a lot of money out of pocket before the insurance policy would pay out. Even worse, some people have buildings insurance policies with exclusions that mean they can't file a claim. This means they have to pay thousands of dollars to fix damage caused by things like flooding because they didn't read the fine print.
The best way to buy buildings insurance is through a specialist broker who can search the whole market and talk to some of the best insurance companies. This will get you the cheapest insurance premiums and the most important information about each policy. You should read these and compare them with the premiums. The terms and conditions of the policy can be found in the fine print. This will tell you what your policy covers and what it doesn't cover.
People often buy insurance thinking that it will cover everything, including damage from storms. However, the most basic insurance policies often don't cover enough. Before you sign for the insurance, you just have to go over the fine print with a fine-tooth comb and ask a specialist for help if you don't understand something.
Most of the time, getting buildings insurance from a direct insurance website is the worst way to do it. This is because many people are fooled by the low premiums and lack of information about what is covered. Buildings insurance should be made to fit each person's needs, and there is no one policy that works for everyone. The coverage you need will depend on things like whether your home is in a flood zone or next to a river. If this was the case, you would expect to pay a little more for your buildings insurance to cover flood damage, so a standard policy wouldn't work.
When you buy on an advised basis, like with a specialist broker, you can tell them about your situation by answering a series of questions. This lets them give you the coverage you need and the most important facts about the policy so you can go over them. A specialist can search with the top lenders to find you the best deals and cheapest premiums based on your situation, so you can be sure you have the coverage you need if the worst happens and you need to make a claim.
