Insurance FAQs

An insurance broker is like an agent working on your behalf to find the most suitable quotations for your property and assets from a panel of leading insurance companies. You do not typically pay any extra for using an insurance broker. The broker’s remuneration comes from the insurance company and not you. There is typically no fee charged either for high value home insurance. Find out more about our High Value Home Insurance.

John Lewis and Marks & Spencer will work with one insurer partner whereas a broker will work with a panel of different insurance companies. A broker will have access to policies that cannot be obtained on the open market. In the event of a claim, a broker should handle the entire claims process for you.

With the understanding of insurance to be the transfer of risk from the insured to the insurer, simply put, home insurance is a common term typically used to describe a product that insures your home and belongings. There are four main elements to a home insurance policy, namely:

– Buildings
– General Contents
– Personal Belongings / Valuables Cover
– Liabilities

The buildings section of a home policy is designed to cover the structure of the home including, but not limited to: walls, fences, paths & driveways, garages, outbuildings & fuel storage tanks et al. The definition of ‘buildings’ however is uniquely defined in the policy wording.

The general contents section of a home policy covers any household goods and personal possessions: belonging to the insured, or members of their household (IE family) or for which they are legally responsible. If you were to pick the house up, turn it upside and give it a shake, anything that falls out of the home would be general contents. General contents usually includes:

– Clothing
– Furniture
– Computers
– Curtains.

The perils covered for contents and valuables are largely the same as those covered within the buildings section. That said, two differences include:

(1) Contents covered in the home only – some policies only cover the contents in the home unless the client adds ‘personal possessions cover’
(2) Contents covered away from the home – most of the policies we work with at Stanhope are all risks worldwide policies. This means all contents and valuables are covered inside & outside the home, and worldwide for up to 60 days. In other words, personal belongings is auto built into the product

Valuables, sometimes called personal possessions or personal belongings, are the higher value items within your home uniquely identified as separate to the general contents. They are separated because they are seen as higher or lower risks to the general contents. Whilst different policies vary, valuables usually include:

– Paintings and Fine Art
– Antique Furniture
– Jewellery and Watches
– Gold and Silver Plated Items
– Unique collections of items