Buildings insurance (how much to insure for)

mazroy

Just had my renewal notice for buildings and contents insurance so will be looking to switch and save money etc...ive noticed on my existing policy the buildings is insured for £300,000 but surely i could build 3 houses for that a lot bigger than my 3 bed semi detached. So the question is how much to insure for ?

thanks

lisyloo

Bear in mind that rebuildings cost can include demolishing half a house and taking it away before rebuilding starts.

Have you remortgaged at all recently?
Usually there is a survey done which you sometimes get a copy of (or can ask for it) and there is usually a figure on there.

You have a couple of choices
You can go back to your last survey and index link it somehow for inflation. Obviously that's more accurate if it's recent.
You could pay for a survey to get it done properly.
Or you could use a calculator to estimate the cost and add a bit on for good measure.
If youre really quite nervous about it you could get an unlimited policy or simply over-insure.

I remortgaged a few times in recent years, so my main basis is the figures on the surveys, plus I add a bit more for a safety margin.