A guide to insuring your home

Buying a home is one of the biggest purchases you can make in your lifetime. It therefore makes sense to protect it and the contents inside it as best you can. That's where insurance comes in. Whether you own a home, lease a property to someone else, or rent from a landlord, insurance for your home can safeguard your financial interests. Here's what you need to know.

Home-related insurance explained

When it comes to insuring your home, there are two types of cover you should be aware of: home insurance (also known as home contents insurance) and building insurance. Both can be purchased separately, but it might be worth it to take them out under the same policy with one insurer, as you may be offered a combo discount.

 

Building insurance

Building insurance offers financial protection against unforeseen damages to a building or property. Fire, theft, and various acts of nature that can damage the physical structure of the home are typically covered by a building insurance policy.

 

Home insurance

Home contents insurance provides cover against loss, damage, and theft of the valuables inside the house, such as microwaves, televisions, and even jewellery. If you could tip your house upside-down, whatever fell out would be covered under a home contents insurance policy. When taking out home contents cover, make sure you include all of the contents in your home so you get an accurate valuation of what they're worth. If you under- or over-insure, your insurance company may not pay out or may only pay a portion of your claim.

 

Who should have home-related insurance?

Whether you've purchased an existing home, built a brand-new house, are renting from someone, or leasing out a property, home-related insurance can safeguard your financial interests.

Depending on what kind of property you own, you may or may not need building insurance. Many sectional titles insure all the units within a complex under one policy. In this case, the cost of the insurance will usually fall under your monthly levies. If you own a freestanding home, you'll need to get your own building insurance quotes and take out cover yourself.

If you're renting from someone else, the building insurance is typically for the owner's account, so you don't have to worry about it. You will, however, need to get your own home insurance as your landlord isn't obliged to cover this.

 

Where to get home-related insurance quotes

There are a few ways to get insurance quotes for your home, but the quickest and easiest is to use an insurance comparison tool, which we offer on our hippo.co.za site. Compare building insurance quotes for the structure of your home and home insurance quotes online for the valuable possessions that make your house a home. You can see quotes from multiple insurers and get a snapshot of who offers the best premiums, excess amounts, and benefits to easily decide which is best for you.

 

Prices quoted are correct at the time of publishing this article. The information in this article is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal, or medical advice.