Buildings or contents?

jennifernil

Looking for insurance for a brand new property, wondering about rebuilding cost.

Property was valued for mortgage purposes before it was finished, both by visiting and looking at standard plans/specifications, and rebuilding cost set at £196k.

After purchase was agreed, extras and changes to the tune of £4000 were added (different kitchen, extra sockets etc). Does this mean I should increase the rebuilding cost by that amount?

The house will have no floor-coverings on the day of entry, but we will immediately be laying laminate and wood flooring in all rooms, with carpet on the stairs only.

Does the laminate and wood get insured as "buildings", or as "contents"?

Quentin

Assuming the floor covering is glued down, it's buildings.

If not, then best discuss with your insurer how they view it.

jennifernil

No insurer as yet, trying to get quotes.

Wood in one room will be nailed down, so in my mind is "buildings", but laminate is "floating", so not sure on that.

rs65

Here's one definition

Buildings insurance covers the structure of the home together with its fixtures and fittings: it covers the cost of repair or rebuilding after fire or weather damage for instance. Contents insurance covers the contents of your home, the possessions you would take with you if you moved house.

xMonsoonx

Most insurers view laminate as 'buildings' as removal in event of a claim would normally cause damage to skirtings etc.

hugoshavez

In all honesty, it's not worth trying to add the rebuild cost too closely. Go at least 20% over, it won't cost much more, and you won't have to worry should the worst happen.

*Scarlett

Many companies offer a blanket rebuild cost on buildings.

You'll find that if you input £250k to be on the safe side, you will probably get quotes for £400k to £1m buildings cover.

Don't worry too much about over insuring as the price you pay is still based on your property details and the risk to the insurer and you might want to take into consideration other aspects of the buildings cover - alternative accomodation, ground clearance, architects, surveyors fees, trace & access etc.

It's best to go for the highest level of cover that is competitive price wise.

Have a look here

http://www.defaqto.com/guides/insurance/home-buildings-insurance-guide/

http://www.which.co.uk/money/insurance/reviews-ns/home-insurance/