Home insurance comes in two distinct types that are often bundled but cover entirely different things: buildings insurance protects the structure, contents insurance protects your possessions. Knowing which you need — and which you might be over- or under-insured on — starts with that split.
Buildings insurance
This covers the physical structure of your home — walls, roof, floors, and usually permanent fixtures like fitted kitchens and bathrooms — against things like fire, flood and storm damage. If you own your home with a mortgage, your lender will typically require you to have it. If you rent, it's your landlord's responsibility, not yours.
Contents insurance
This covers your possessions — furniture, electronics, clothes, and so on — against loss or damage. Both homeowners and renters can benefit from it, since the structure and the stuff inside it are insured separately. A common gap: renters assuming the landlord's insurance covers their belongings. It generally doesn't.
Things that affect what you pay and what's covered
The excess you agree to, security features, the rebuild cost (for buildings) and total possessions value (for contents), and optional extras like accidental damage or away-from-home cover all shape the price and the protection. Read what's actually covered rather than assuming — our broader guide on which insurance you need covers the read-the-small-print principle.
Shopping for it
As with car insurance, the renewal quote isn't always competitive — comparing through a regulated comparison service before auto-renewing can save money for identical cover. Just make sure you're comparing like for like on excess and coverage, not just the headline price.