The Importance Of Buildings Insurance. 26 February at 8:11PM in Debt-free wannabe 25 replies 1.7K views

Grumpelstiltskin

OK Don't say this is on the wrong board but we regularly get posters on here who have a mortgage or own outright their homes and who don't have buildings insurance.

Thinking about the poster recently who was happy buying bottled water but had no buildings insurance. What would he do in the circumstances here?
Derby: Boy, 14, charged after car crashes into house - BBC News

No use saying nothing is going to happen to my house you have no control of what a 14 year old boy chooses to do.

MattMattMattUK

Grumpelstiltskin said:

OK Don't say this is on the wrong board but we regularly get posters on here who have a mortgage or own outright their homes and who don't have buildings insurance.

Thinking about the poster recently who was happy buying bottled water but had no buildings insurance. What would he do in the circumstances here?
Derby: Boy, 14, charged after car crashes into house - BBC News

No use saying nothing is going to happen to my house you have no control of what a 14 year old boy chooses to do.

It is on the wrong board, I have requested a move to insurance. 

Grumpelstiltskin

Yes I know about the Insurance board but it is important for Debt Free Wannabees to know the possible consequences of not having Buildings Insurance.

SusieT

Good post, a lot of people with debt and a mortgage do not have building insurance and it is  often a condition of the mortgage so very important. Also worth noting that (unless living with parents who are covered) contents insurance is very important - neither are very expensive so it is very rare that they cannot be included in the budget.
@MattMattMattUK In this case, it is the correct board for the post as it is where people in debt will be looking, and they will mostly miss it in the insurance area

TheAble

Would agree with the OP and i would say it has a place on here for the reasons mentioned. While other debts you can recover from,the loss of your property without insurance is a catastrophic blow and ridiculous risk to run. I would sacrifice almost every other expenditure before leaving my home uninsured.

Rob5342

It's hard to imagine why anyone wouldn't have it. £15 a month vs losing a lifelong asset.

real_name_hidden

I too would agree with the post being on this board. There are essential direct debits we all should have including house insurance, even when you’re paying off debt.

Floss

Rob5342 said:

It's hard to imagine why anyone wouldn't have it. £15 a month vs losing a lifelong asset.

But when someone is trying to keep themselves afloat, it is often one of the things that gets cut out of a budget.

enthusiasticsaver

Buildings insurance is compulsory if you have a mortgage and advisable for all unless you can afford the several hundred thousand pounds you would need to rebuild in the event of a fire. People don’t need the full bells and whistles package. A basic buildings one will do the job and cost very little. If you have savings and want to keep the cost low you can up the excess to get lower premiums. 

This does belong on the DFW board as @Grumpelstiltskin is trying to alert those in debt to priority expenditure and some often cut back there rather than somewhere less essential. 

zenshi

Floss said:

Rob5342 said:

It's hard to imagine why anyone wouldn't have it. £15 a month vs losing a lifelong asset.

But when someone is trying to keep themselves afloat, it is often one of the things that gets cut out of a budget.

This was exactly me when I was just pulling my head out of the sand. I winged it for a couple of years because it was money I could use for food. 

Coming back from taking my dog out for an hour long walk, I turned the corner into my street and saw two fire engines, lights on, parked right outside my house. My heart was in my boots! Fortunately for me, it was next doors shed that was on fire but was close to my oil tank. I was very lucky!

That night, I got insurance, it wasn’t worth the worry of not having it

Rob5342

Floss said:

Rob5342 said:

It's hard to imagine why anyone wouldn't have it. £15 a month vs losing a lifelong asset.

But when someone is trying to keep themselves afloat, it is often one of the things that gets cut out of a budget.

I can get buildings insurance on my house for £7 a month. I know people sometimes have to cut back a lot, but £7 is barely going to make any difference and you risk being homeless for the rest of your life.