Insurances recommended/essential?

united4ever

Am a FTB buying a new flat. Buildings insurances is included in the service charge so I guess I'm ok on that one. Contents insurance is advisable but not essential right? Any recommendations for contents insurance?

Regarding insurance to cover my mortgage if I become sick/redundant, how common is it to take this out and any general advice comments regarding this welcome.

Slightly different but, regarding the survey for a new build is a Home Buyers report generally sufficient. This is the cheapest and least thorough kind of survey right? The home has a 10 year NHBC guarantee. Do you think I should spend more on a better survey?

Are there any major kinds of insurance missing here or is that it? I know a lot depends on your attitude to risk and so is a personal choice though.

Thanks

zipwen1

i think if its a new build a basic survey would be enough.
you dont have to have contents insurance but id get it anyway
mortgage repayment protection i would personally take out because you just never know what the future holds, when taking this out though make sure that you read the policy carefully because there are a lot of conditions in them which could result in them not paying a claim and bearing this in mind some are just a total waste of money, id go and see an insurance broker to get the best policy for yourself, at the best price

hazeyj

If you live in an apt block then at some point you will have a leak. I guarantee it.

In my last flat, there was a massive leak from the top of the building and all 16 flats in the building were trashed. I was the only leaseholder to have contents and I claimed for 3.5k worth of damage. No-one else had contents insurance. They were gutted.

Dont scrimp on the amount you insure for either..We had the loss adjuster come to see us when we put in the claim as it was for such a large amount and he told us we were under insured and that because of this really he wasnt obligated to allow the claim to proceed but the fact that he could see everything was wrecked (and my tears) he let it go through.

We took a check of EVERYTHING that would need replacing should the worst happen and found we we needed to increase our cover from 10k to 35K.

More Than insurance offer 75K worth of cover as standard and thats who I am with now.

prudryden

Contents insurance, I think, is essential. One of the reasons is that you generally get 3rd party liability with it. You never know if a guest may slip on your floor or trip on your rug and end up in hospital in a coma. Either you or your insurance will end up paying for it.

cattie

If you live alone & don't have a decent amount of cash behind you then I'd consider mortgage payment protection essential.

You never know what is around the corner & I myself found myself in a situation where I was absolutely thankful that I had this insurance, otherwise I may have lost my home.


Contents insurance is pretty important too & many companies offer good discounts for taking it out online. Halifax is one company that consistanly comes up with a low premium for comprehensive cover. If you don't take the accidental damage element it reduces the cost.

dunstonh

cant tell you which is best. When I issue quotes I find different companies come out top each time. This is of course the same with most insurance as every company has its target market and will price with that in mind.

livinginhope

Just wanted to say,PLEASE get contents insurance and make sure you have enough cover,our debt was caused by a fire,we didn't have adequate cover,so we were underinsured,I would class it as essential.
We tried to claim on mortgage protection when DH lost his job,only to find that you cannot claim for a couple of months,by which time he had a new job,although we still pay it,£28/month for £800/month cover,I doubt there will ever be a way to claim on it.