Protect your home with best-in-class buildings insurance.
Buildings insurance covers the cost of repairing or rebuilding the structure of your home. This financial protection provides cover for any damage to your roof, walls, windows, floors, and permanent fixtures and fittings.
Some buildings insurance policies, such as ours, also cover garages, sheds, greenhouses and other domestic outbuildings.
Insured events typically include fire, flood, theft or extreme weather damage.
You will need to consider buildings insurance if:
You’re a homeowner
You own a freehold flat
If you’re a homeowner or own a freehold flat, you’re better off getting comprehensive home insurance, which includes both buildings insurance and contents insurance.
If you’re renting or own a leasehold flat, you may only need contents insurance.
These two terms are often confused when it comes to calculating buildings insurance, but they mean very different things.
The market value is irrelevant for insurance purposes, as your insurer only needs to cover the cost of rebuilding the physical structure, not the location-based value.
The cost of rebuilding your home is known as the ‘buildings sum insured’ and is usually lower than market value. If you were to be insured for market value, you would probably be over-insured and pay higher premiums unnecessarily.
To calculate the cost of your buildings insurance, you need to work out how much it would cost to rebuild your home completely.
Remember, the cost of rebuilding your home is not the same as the price you paid for your home, or its current value if you were to sell it.
You mustn’t underestimate the rebuild value. If you do, your insurance may not cover the full costs.
You can use the BCIS calculator from the Association of British Insurers for an estimate.
Storm or Flood: Damage caused to the building by storm or flood
Riot and Civil Commotion or Flood: Damage caused to the building by Riot, Civil Commotion, Strike, Labour or Political Disturbance, Malicious Persons or Vandals.
Subsidence: Subsidence or Heave of the site beneath the building or Landslip causing the building or part of it to collapse.
Escape of water or oil: Escape of water or oil from any fixed water or heating installation or domestic appliance.
Theft: Damage to the buildings by theft or attempted theft.
Impact involving an aircraft, aerial device or anything falling from them, or by a train, vehicle or animal.
Breakage or collapse of satellite dishes: Breakage or collapse of satellite dishes, receiving aerials and their fittings or masts.
Falling Trees: This includes Falling trees, branches, telegraph poles or lamp posts, including the cost of removing any that cause damage to the home.
Smoke Damage: Smoke damage by any gradually operating cause.
Storm or Flood Damages that include: Damage to gates, fences, hedges or tennis courts, damage to oil or fuel tanks, hot tubs and swimming pools, damage caused by frost, subsidence, landslip or heave.
Damages that include: Damage occurring if your home is left unoccupied for more than 60 days, malicious damage by any person lawfully in your home.
Subsidence Damages that includes: Damage to terraces, patios, drives, paths, garden walls, hedges, outdoor swimming pools, fishponds, ornamental ponds, tennis courts and gardens unless the foundations beneath the external walls of your home are damaged at the same time,
Damage caused by the bedding down of new structures or the settlement of newly made-up ground. Damage to solid floor slabs or resulting from their movement, unless the foundations beneath the external walls of your home are damaged at the same time.
Damage caused by coastal erosion. Faulty workmanship or design, or defective materials in the building.
Damage to oil tanks. Damage to oil tanks.
Escape of water or oil Damage that include: The repair of the part of the installation from which water or oil escapes. Damage occurring if your home is left unoccupied for more than 60 days.
Damage caused to any part of your buildings due to subsidence caused by the escape of water.
Theft or attempted theft if: Your home is left unoccupied for more than 60 days. Theft by a member of your household or a lodger, tenant or paying guest
Pet damage: Damage caused by insects or by domestic pets owned by you or anyone residing in your home.
Satellite dish damage: Damage to the satellite dish, aerial, fitting or mast itself.
Falling Trees: Damage to tennis courts. The cost of removal if buildings are not damaged at the same time. Damage due to tree felling, lopping or topping operations undertaken on the site of your home.
Note: Always check the policy documents for limits and exclusions. For more details, read our Home Insurance Product Information Document.
Provides access to a 24-hour legal helpline for advice and assistance, covering costs incurred up to £50,000 during legal proceedings.
Calculate the estimated cost of completely rebuilding your home. This helps to speed up the process.
Read your policy book: Check that the loss or damage to your property is covered under your buildings insurance policy.
Prepare all the relevant information: Ensure you have your policy number, the date of the incident and the details of the damage ready.
Contact us: Get in touch with a friendly member of our customer service team and they will support you with your building insurance claim.
Opening hours are 9am - 5pm, Monday – Thursday and 9am - 4pm, Friday, excluding bank holidays.
Outside these hours there is a 24-hour Emergency Helpline available on the same number.
For all home emergency claims, please call 01444 442800.
Alternatively, please email claims@sagic.co.uk
Several factors impact the rebuild value of your home. They include the size of your property, its age, the materials used in its construction, your location, as well as subsidence and flood risk.
Subsidence normally develops over a period of time. Cracks may appear, or your property could suffer from movement. However, not all cracking or movement will be caused by subsidence.
So, while your buildings insurance does cover subsidence, there are some factors to consider:
