What’s covered under Buildings Insurance with Home Insurance?

Your home is an ever-evolving asset. And like any asset, it is vulnerable to unforeseen eventualities that affect its price for the better or worse. A home is something you make, but in simpler terms a house, apartment or townhouse in a complex is a structure made of bricks and mortar with a roof. Buildings Insurance is the part of Home Insurance that protects the physical structure of your home, not your possessions within it like your couch, TV, or air fryer. Those would fall under Home Contents Insurance.

What does Buildings Insurance generally cover?

The following, as a result of burst pipes, fire, floods, and various other accidents and natural events, may be covered:

• The main structure: walls, roof, ceilings, floors, built-in cupboards

• Permanent fixtures: plumbing, electrical, geysers, built-in appliances (often), garage doors, paving (sometimes)

• Outbuildings: garage, “granny” flats, boundary walls and gates depending on your policy specifics

What it doesn’t cover:

• Contents insurance (moveable stuff)

• Maintenance (gradual wear and tear, damp from ongoing leaks, rotten wood, etc.)

• Certain big-ticket risks unless you add them: subsidence (the house sinking), landslides, accidental damage, thatch-specific cover, and more which varies according to the policy.

• Power surges, solar and inverter risks. Don’t assume these are automatically covered. Some policies place limits on surge claims, treat backup-power equipment under specific sections, or require you to add cover separately. If you’ve installed solar or an inverter setup, make sure it has been properly disclosed, correctly installed and backed by the right compliance documents.

Why is Buildings Insurance so important in South Africa?

An unexpected incident can deplete your savings due to the high cost of repairing or rebuilding a home, and the risk of such events in South Africa is persistent and remains a significant concern.

• Weather volatility is now a mainstream insurance stressor in SA due to floods, hail and violent winds, often attributed to climate change concerns.

• Fire and water damage are common, expensive, and often spread beyond the “source.” One geyser can wreck ceilings, floors, and built-in fixtures.

NOTE: If you have a home loan, your bank will usually require buildings cover before the bond is registered. For free-standing homes, this is typically your responsibility, and the property should usually be insured at its full rebuild value, not its market value. For sectional title homes, buildings insurance is often handled by the body corporate and included in the rental levy.

Who needs Building Insurance?

NOTE: Your ownership type dictates whether Buildings Insurance is your responsibility, the body corporate’s or shared.

• Freehold homeowners need Buildings Insurance Cover in their own name (often required by your bond).

• Freehold Landlords still need Buildings Insurance Cover. Tenants don’t pay for the insurance of your structure.

• Sectional title owners: the body corporate usually insures the building structure. You typically insure contents plus any improvements (like upgraded kitchens, custom flooring), and sometimes internal fixtures depending on the policy’s cover.

• Cash buyers (no bond): you’re not “forced” to insure, which is exactly why many people go uninsured or underinsured.

How much does Building Insurance cost?

There are many factors considered when you apply for Buildings Cover, so each policy is priced and structured around things like your home’s rebuild value, construction type, location, and security features. Hippo takes the guesswork out of finding the right cover for you. Listed below are the companies vetted by Hippo’s experts to help you compare.

How to choose the right Buildings Insurance cover amount

Here’s a few things to consider when applying for the right Buildings Insurance cover:

• Insure for cost of rebuilding, not selling price.

• Include the “hidden” rebuild extras: demolition, rubble removal, professional fees, plan approvals.

• Watch building-cost inflation. Stats SA’s construction input price index moved +2.6% year-on-year (Oct 2025). That’s just an average but other specifics could have become more expensive

• Decide how you want geyser related claims to be covered (standard cover vs add-ons vs excess structures).

• Choose an excess you can afford.

• Be honest about risk factors: flat roof, thatch, older wiring/plumbing, flood-prone areas, solar/inverter setup. These affect underwriting and claims outcomes.

Let Hippo compare the right Building Insurance cover for you

Hippo takes the hassle out of finding not only a better price, but the greatest value for your Buildings Insurance requirements. It takes minutes to compare, your dtq is never shared and is absolutely free.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, medical or insurance advice. Hippo is a comparison site helping you evaluate quotes from trusted South African insurers. Always review policy details before making changes. Quotes are risk profile dependent and subject to annual review. No fees are charged for using Hippo’s comparison service. HAS (Pty) Ltd and HCS (Pty) Ltd are authorised FSPs. Terms and conditions apply.