How To Choose Home Insurance

Choosing home insurance is not as difficult as it may seem for a first time buyer. Sure, there are several things to take into consideration, and monthly payments are just one of these things, but a little time and effort will see you happily insured and feeling secure in the event of claim.

If your property is subject to a mortgage, you will be required to take out insurance on the property, but even once your property is paid off it is not a good idea to not have sufficient insurance. When the property is insured, it is important that it be insured for its current value.


The insurance provider must be notified when substantial changes are made to the property – if these changes increase the value and, consequently, the cost of repairing or replacing the property, then the insurance provider must be made aware of these changes, or you risk being underinsured.

When applying for home insurance, owners must disclose any use of the home that is not purely residential. Some policies of insurance will not pay out a claim if the property was used for business purposes.

When considering a policy, read the fine print to see what else your home insurance covers, besides the structure. Some home insurance policies cover cash, jewellery, firearms and so on stored on the premises, while others do not.

Insurance companies also add exclusions to their policies, for example mould and mildew damage to homes may not be automatically included in your policy, so it is important for you to review the policy or to be advised thoroughly of its contents by an insurance agent to confirm the property is properly protected. In many cases it is possible to add excluded coverage to your policy for an additional premium.

Regardless of the type of home insurance you have purchased it is critical to review the conditions portions of the policy, and to know your responsibilities as a homeowner, for example to notify the insurer promptly of damage to the property, as failure to comply with these conditions could allow the insurance company to deny a claim that might otherwise be covered.

Please note that Churchill does not control and cannot guarantee the relevance, timeliness, or accuracy of the article above.