Millions of Homeowners May Not Be Fully Covered by Insurance if House Burns Down
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This article has really made me think, you take out insurance and you don't think any more about it. I watch a lot of property programmes, Grand Designs etc. so was aware of the increase in costs in building materials.
But according to this article an estimated nine out of 10 homes have underestimated the amount of cover they need for ‘rebuilding’ costs on their property insurance – largely because the cost of it has shot up 18% in a year.
As your insurance is renewed annually, I would assume that that there shouldn't be such a disconnect. Am I the only one who blindly trusts that the insurance companies do this analysis for them ?
You never want to think of the worst happening but can you imagine then finding out you are not fully covered!
metro.co.uk/2023/03/29/millions-of-homeowners-may-not-be-fully-covered-if-house-burns-down-18523504/
It works the other way too... there are possibly millions who think their home should be insured for its market value, the rebuilding cost, in almost all cases, is much less than the amount they'd get if selling.
It's up to property owners to check things out. But over-insuring is probably the safest way if unsure.
davidstockport I am risk adverse so would prefer my insurance company to increase the premiums so I know I am covered 
beccatavender Don't worry , and don't believe what the Metro says (does anyone ? )
. "Millions of homeowners " ? that's just about everyone who owns a house in the UK 
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As long as you have put your address and details in correctly the Insurance company works out the rebuilding costs (have you not noticed ?).
Must be a slow news day for the Metro ? No elephants discovered on the moon , no three headed dogs etc, etc .
Top tip , never use the Metro as the reference for fanciful stories - you might worry some folk .
beccatavender I'm the same way - if you're under insured, you MIGHT be uninsured, but reasonable insurers will often pay out on a pro-rata basis.
It's worthwhile checking out the premiums from other insurers at least every couple of years. (saves thousands long term). IMHO it is often better to bear the cost of minor things yourself, a no claim history gets you better terms. And many traders really overcharge if they know it's an "insurance job".
davidstockport My husband deals with the insurance and I know he always hunts around for the most competitive price, which is why this set off alarm bells, as heaven forbid anything happened and we found out we have been paying less in premiums only to find out we were under insured
Or don’t smoke, leave a candle unattended or switch the wrong gas hob. Have a smoke alarm with a working battery and probably unlikely you would have a fire. Couldn’t vouch for neighbours though if terraced.
I've just done my home insurance for this year, It's the Hasting's Essential Home Insurance (buildings and contents). Just a basic policy but the house rebuilding cost they insure is something like £270,000 just for the re-building the house even though the actual value of the house as is with the land is less than that. It's costing me £88 but there is £38 cashback through topcashback so £50 for the year although the cashback won't be paid until probably autumn.
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