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Buildings insurance

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  • We’ll refund up to £250 of your excess if you make a claim. Excludes accidental loss or damage claims^
  • Use the BCIS's rebuild calculator in the quote process to assess your home's rebuild cost
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^UK residents and home insurance purchases only. Excess refunded after claim settled. Excludes accidental loss or damage claims made on your home insurance. Full T&Cs apply.

What is building insurance?

Buildings insurance is a sort of home insurance that offers cover for your property's structure and its permanent fittings and fixtures, but not the contents.

A good policy should cover things like the ceiling, floors, walls, the roof, windows and doors, plus outdoor constructions such as fences and garages.

It should also cover things like fitted bathroom suites and kitchen units, plus drains, pipes, tanks and cables that you're responsible for from the mains supply to your property.

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Compare buildings insurance from over 65 UK insurers

We search for quotes from over 65 trusted UK home insurers[1] to help you find the right policy for you

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Why compare buildings insurance with us?

Free £250 home excess cover^

We’ll refund up to £250 of your excess if you make a claim. Excludes accidental loss or damage claims^

Get cheap quotes in minutes

You could save time and money with our quick and simple search

Comparison you can trust

Our customers rated us 4.7/5 for home insurance comparison[2]

Do I need buildings insurance?

There is no legal requirement to insure your building. But it may be a good idea, or even essential, for some people.

If you're unsure whether you need buildings insurance, take a look at the below:

Who might need it?

  • Homeowners with a mortgage - Most mortgage lenders will insist you take out building insurance in order to get a mortgage. The same goes for if you ever decide to remortgage in the future. They’ll usually ask for proof of insurance documentation before they’ll give you the loan.
  • Homeowners without a mortgage - If you own your property outright, then it’s up to you whether you take out buildings cover. If you’re unsure, it’s worth thinking about the rebuild cost of your home and whether you could afford the cost of repairs should your home be damaged.
  • Freeholders - If you own the freehold, or a share of it, you’ll need to organise your own cover.

Who doesn't need it?

  • Flat owners - If you’re leasing a property, such as a flat, the owner of the freehold should have insured the building already.
  • Tenants - You won't need buildings insurance if you rent a property. That’s the responsibility of your landlord. You want your own tenants insurance however.
  • Landlords - If you rent out a property, you may want to consider dedicated landlord building insurance. Standard home buildings insurance won't cover you.

What does buildings insurance cover?

You should always check your policy's terms and conditions for full details of what's covered and for any exclusions. Typical cover and exclusions include:

What's covered?

What's not covered?

Free £250 home excess cover, only with GoCompare^

If you need to claim on your home insurance - for example, if your building is damaged by subsidence or your possessions are stolen - your free home excess cover will refund up to £250 of your excess.

There’s no hidden charge. But you won't be covered for things like accidental loss such as leaving a laptop on a train or accidental damage, such as spilling wine on your carpet or drilling through a pipe.

Get a home insurance quote

^UK residents and home insurance purchases only. Excess refunded after claim settled. Excludes accidental loss or damage claims made on your home insurance. Full T&Cs apply.

gio compario home insurance

How much does building insurance cost on average?

Our customers pay £150 on average for buildings insurance.*

Your own premium might cost more or less than this. It's affected by a number of factors, including:

  • The structure and size of your property
  • Your proximity to water
  • The materials used to build your home
  • The number of claims made in the last five years
  • The amount of voluntary and compulsory excess you pay
  • Whether you have a no claims discount

The number of bedrooms you have is a good indicator, so here’s how much your buildings insurance could cost depending on the number of bedrooms.**

  • One bedroom: £106
  • Two bedrooms: £111
  • Three bedrooms: £1130
  • Four bedrooms: £173
  • Five or more bedrooms: £266
*The average price paid for home insurance purchased in July 2022 by type of cover. For buildings and contents insurance, it was £191. For buildings insurance only, it was £150. For contents insurance only, it was £75.

**The average cost of buildings insurance per number of bedrooms when paid annually in July 2022.
average cost of home insurance

What do you need to get a quote?

When calculating your premium, insurers look at a variety of factors about you and your home. To get you the most accurate prices, we need to know about.

  1. The rebuild cost of your property

    This is the cost of rebuilding your property to the same specification if it was demolished. The cost determines how much cover you need.

  2. Features of your property

    If your home is listed, timber-framed, or has a flat or thatched roof.

  3. Previous claims

    Claims for burglary, vandalism, fire, subsidence, water or storm damage in the last five years will need to be declared. Failure to do so could invalidate your policy.

  4. Security features

    If your property is fitted with smoke alarms and burglar alarms, it may reduce the cost of your premium

  5. Your proximity to water

    Properties in flood risk areas may require extra attention and information from your insurer

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Check your policy wording so you know what's covered

Unless you’ve specifically added cover, home insurance doesn’t cover things like accidental damage to your property. If you accidentally drill a hole through a water pipe while putting up shelves, you may not be covered unless you’ve bought the extra protection.
Ceri McMillan - Home insurance expert

Optional extras

If your policy doesn’t include cover for things like accidental damage or legal expenses as standard, you can usually add them on for a fee. Common optional extras include:

Frequently asked questions

  • Buildings insurance covers the structure of your property and its fixtures and fittings. Contents insurance is cover for your possessions - things like your furniture, TV, jewellery and clothes.

    You can purchase buildings and contents insurance separately, or together as a combined home insurance policy.

  • When you compare quotes with us, you’ll find a rebuild cost calculator within the set of questions. Alternatively, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has a rebuild cost calculator you can use, or you can hire a Chartered Surveyor.

  • You won’t be covered for damage that occurs when your house has been left unoccupied for more than the period shown on your schedule. This is usually 30 to 60 consecutive days.

    Find out more about unoccupied home insurance >

  • Most policies won’t cover damp and condensation, but it’s worth checking your policy details.

  • No, your landlord should have buildings insurance. But you might want to think about protecting your belongings with contents insurance.

  • Yes, you can get buildings insurance if your home is at risk of flooding.

  • Yes, most policies will cover your home for loss and damage due to subsidence, but it won’t be able to help with preventing further subsidence.

  • No, you don’t have to. The easiest way to find the right cover for you at a great price is by comparing multiple policies and providers.

  • That depends. If you’re a renter you don’t usually have to worry about buildings insurance as your landlord should have a policy. But you might need cover if you’re a leaseholder that doesn't have contact with their freeholder, or if it’s a condition of your mortgage.

  • No, your home insurance is unlikely to cover claims due to you extending or renovating your home.

  • You can usually find out when your home was built by checking: 

    • A homebuyers survey 
    • Your mortgage offer 
    • HM Land Registry 
    • With your neighbour, estate agent or seller

  • No, you’ll usually be asked about outbuildings and garages separately.

  • You should still be able to get buildings cover for non-standard construction homes, but it might be more expensive. Insurers usually ask what your home is made out of, so you’ll be able to declare it then.

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About Go.Compare

Go.Compare is a UK price comparison website that lets you compare the cost and features of a wide variety of insurance policies, financial products and broadband deals from a network of trusted partners.

We’re committed to helping you find the right product at the right price. When we launched in 2006, we became the first comparison site to display policy details and provider ratings rather than just listing prices. We're also the only comparison website to be invited to join the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) and we're authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Our product comparisons are unbiased. We don't charge you to use our services, and we don't accept advertising or sponsored listings. Instead, we make money from the providers that appear on our site, who pay us a fee when you buy through us.

You can find out more about Go.Compare on our about us page or if you have a question, get in touch.

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References

 

[1]As of August 2022, there are 66 active home insurers on the panel at GoCompare

[2]Based on Trustpilot: Our average rating of 4.8 out of 5 is from 2389 people who left a review for home insurance comparison only. Last checked 05 August 2022.

Page last reviewed: 14 September 2022