Finding the right home insurance deal can be a long and sometimes complicated task, so Tesco Compare have come up with a guide to help you find what you need in less time and with less stress!

Buildings and contents Insurance:

Home insurance is also known as household insurance, and there are three main types of policies – buildings insurance, home contents insurance and combined buildings and home contents insurance.

Buildings insurance protects you against damage to the structure of your home together with its fixtures and fittings, while home contents insurance is there to guard against damage to or loss of the belongings you keep in and around the house. A useful way to decide which belongings should be covered by home contents insurance is to think of which possessions you would normally take with you if you were to move house. The last option is a single combination of both your buildings and home contents insurance cover.

You don’t have to take out both buildings and home contents insurance with the same insurance company, and it’s worth carefully comparing the various benefits different providers offer.

On the other hand companies will often offer a cheaper home insurance quote to you for taking out both policies with them, and this could reduce your administration time and streamline the handling of any claims made on both your buildings and home contents policies.

You can also get a price for combined buildings and home contents insurance in one quote, without having to fill out separate forms.

Most buildings and home contents insurance should cover you against the perils mentioned in the list below, while cover for your legal liabilities as the home’s owner or occupier is often available as an optional extra.

• Falling branches and trees
• Lightning strikes
• Explosions
• Fire
• Storms
• Flooding
• Subsidence, heave and landslip
• Aircraft or objects falling from aircraft
• Earthquakes
• Impact by vehicles or animals
• Theft
• Riot and malicious persons
• Breakage or collapse of aerials
• Leakage of water from tanks or pipes, and of oil from fixed heating installations

Your policy details:

Although it may not be much fun, it’s always a good idea to read your policy so that you are sure you have the right level of cover, as well as understanding all the legal obligations placed on both you and your chosen insurance provider.

These policies are not always as difficult to read and compare as you may think – more and more insurance companies are making sure their policies are written in clear, plain language. With Tesco Compare you can compare up to four different insurers policies at any one time to make sure you are getting the right cover.

You may also notice certain excesses and exclusions in the policy document. If you are required to pay the first part of the cost when you make a claim it’s known as an excess, and these differ from policy to policy so make sure to check them before buying yours. An exclusion refers to specific events not covered by your policy; it’s worth reading these to be certain you have cover for everything requiring it.

What price and why?

Although the details of your policy are very important, most buyers are very interested in also finding cheap home insurance quotes. Insurance providers will look at many different factors when calculating your quote, the most important of which is arguably your post code.

Knowing in which area your house is located, and using their previous claims experience collected there allows insurers to decide how much of a risk they run by insuring you, and to set the premium you pay accordingly.

Unfortunately some post codes cover areas with different levels of risk, so you may be facing a higher premium than necessary. It’s worth checking quotes from several providers with Tesco Compare’s Home Insurance comparison service, as they may place your post code in different rating bands which leads to different premiums being quoted.

Although the postcode of the home is the base on which insurers calculate premiums, they also take into account the policy holder’s previous claim history, the amounts insured, what kind of items you are insuring and a great number of factors often known only to the individual insurer. You will need to provide all your information correctly to make sure you are completely covered, yet not over insured and paying higher premiums!