The question most homeowners should ask is not what their policy covers, but where it stops. Standard home insurance is a competent product for standard events. The moment you step outside the standard scenario, whether in the value of what you own, the nature of the damage, or how long the property sits empty, that standard policy behaves in ways nobody warned you about at the point of purchase. The FCA’s own value measures data for 2024 shows that only 70.7% of combined buildings and contents claims were accepted across the market. For buildings-only policies, the figure drops to 63.2%. In motor insurance, the equivalent acceptance rate is 99%. That gap is not an accident. It is the product of policies written with exclusions that most policyholders have never read.
What does buildings insurance actually cover?
Buildings insurance responds to sudden, catastrophic, or externally caused events. The standard UK buildings policy covers: fire, lightning, explosion, storm, flood, subsidence and landslip, falling trees or debris, escape of water from burst pipes or leaking appliances, theft or attempted theft causing structural damage, and vehicle collision. It also covers the cost of alternative accommodation while your home is uninhabitable following an insured event. That is not a trivial benefit: a major escape of water requiring floor replacement and redecoration can leave a property unlived in for three to six months.
What it does not cover is equally material. Gradual damage, damp from condensation or poor maintenance, rot, rust, and general wear and tear are excluded in all standard policies without exception. Most insurers exclude gates and fences from storm damage claims. Subsidence is covered, but almost always with a specific excess of around £1,000, separate from the standard policy excess. If your property has previously experienced subsidence, expect higher premiums, additional exclusions, or mandatory structural surveys before cover is confirmed.
What does contents insurance cover?
Contents insurance covers your belongings against the same insured perils: fire, theft, flood, storm, escape of water. Some policies extend to items temporarily away from home, covering laptops on holiday or jewellery worn to an event, but personal possessions cover of this kind is usually an optional add-on rather than a default inclusion.
The detail that consistently causes problems at claim is the single article limit: typically £1,000 to £2,500 depending on the insurer, though some premium policies go higher. This is the maximum your insurer will pay for any single item not specifically listed on the policy. Aviva’s standard limit is £2,500. If you own a watch worth £6,000 and have not named it separately on your schedule, your maximum claim is £2,500, regardless of what your total contents sum insured says. The same applies to jewellery collections, art, antiques, bicycles, cameras, and specialist equipment.
Most contents policies also impose a total valuables limit, commonly between £10,000 and £20,000, which caps all high-value items in aggregate. If your jewellery is worth £15,000 and the policy’s total valuables limit is £10,000, you have a £5,000 gap even if every piece was individually listed. Check both figures, not just one.
Does home insurance cover accidental damage?
The standard answer is no. Accidental damage cover is an optional add-on under most UK home insurance policies. Without it, knocking your television off its stand, drilling through a water pipe, a child putting a cricket ball through a window, or spilling red wine on a wool rug, are all costs you bear yourself. Some policies include limited accidental damage for specific scenarios as standard, but the scope is usually narrow. The full accidental damage extension, covering both buildings and contents, typically costs £50 to £150 extra per year.
It is worth adding. The most common home insurance claims by volume in the UK are not major structural events. They are escape of water and accidental damage. The ABI’s 2026 claims data shows UK insurers paid out £846 million to households in the first three months of 2026, with escape of water among the leading causes. Standard policy. No accidental damage extension. No cover for the pipe you drilled through on Sunday afternoon.
