Q: What's the difference between my buildings and my contents?
A:To put it really simply, if you were to turn your home upside down, everything that fell out would be your contents, and those that remain your buildings.

Q: What cover limits do you offer?
A: We offer the following cover limits:

• Up to £300,000 Buildings cover, which can be increased to £500,000
• Up to £50,000 Contents cover, which can be increased to £75,000
• Up to £10,000 Personal Possessions cover, which can be increased to £15,000

How much should I insure my home for?Answer: To know how much buildings cover is sufficient, you need to know the cost of rebuilding your home, not the valuation of your home if you were selling. This is normally on the lender's valuation or can be provided by a surveyor.
For contents cover you should think about all your belongings within your home and how much it would cost to replace each item new today. Walk through each room of your home and record all your contents with value. Having an inventory of your home contents will help you enormously in the event of any claim.

Q: What  is   Standard Buildings Insurance Cover?
A: Our Home Insurance policy provides you with the following cover options and limits, depending on your choice of Buildings, Contents or the combined Buildings and Contents Insurance;

• £300,000 Buildings Insurance – This can be increased to £500,000 for an additional premium
• Up to £2,000,000 Property Owner's Liability Cover
• Up to £45,000 alternative accommodation for you and your pets
• Up to £2,000 for loss or damage to your trees, shrubs, plants, hedges and lawn

Q: What  is   Standard Contents Insurance ?
A: Our Home Insurance policy provides you with the following cover options and limits, depending on your choice of Buildings, Contents or the combined Buildings and Contents Insurance;

• £50,000 Contents Insurance – This can be increased to £75,000 for an additional premium
• Up to £2,000,000 Occupiers' Liability Cover
• Up to £10,000 alternative accommodation for you and your pets
• Up to £15,000 for your specified items & valuables
• Up to £5,000 per item for your unspecified contents
• Up to £2,000 per item for jewellery, gold and silver articles, furs, clocks, watches, pictures, other works of art, sculptures and collections of stamps, medals or coins unless specified
• Up to £2,500 theft cover for items in your garage or outbuildings
• Replacement of food from your freezer that has been spoilt by accidental change in temperature
• Up to £500 for loss or damage to contents in the open within the grounds of your home
• Business equipment covered if you work from home
• Replacement items settled on a new for old basis if they cannot be economically repaired
• Increased contents cover for wedding gifts is available for one month before and one month after the wedding day up to £3,500

Q: I work from home, is my business equipment covered?
A: Yes! With Contents cover any office equipment used for business in your home is covered if you or a member of your family works from home.

Q: What  does "New for Old" mean?
A: If an item has been damaged and cannot be economically repaired, we will replace the item with a new one of similar quality
What  are optional extras?
As well as Versatile Cover standard Buildings & Contents cover, there are a number of optional extras available to you for peace ofmind:
• Accidental Damage Cover - The most common reason people claim on their Home Insurance is for Accidental Damage so it can
prove to be very cost effective to add to your policy providing cover up to your sum insured amount. Adding Accidental Damage
to your policy covers visible damage that hasn’t been caused on purpose or inevitably such as putting your foot through the floor
of your loft or leaving the bath running too long so it overflows and ruins your carpets and ceiling below.
• Home Emergency Cover - If an emergency, such as a burst pipe occurs within your home, Home Emergency Cover, underwritten
by DAS Legal Expenses Insurance Company Limited, provides a 24 hour helpline which you can call to arrange for a qualified
tradesman to make any repairs to your home required to avoid damage or further damage up to a value of £500.
• Legal Expenses Cover - Versatile Cover also offer the option of Legal Expenses Cover, underwritten by DAS Legal Expenses Insurance
Company Limited, which provides up to £50,000 of cover per insured incident for you and your family to pursue or defend a claim
including employment disputes, bodily injury, clinical negligence or contract disputes with the sale or purchase of goods and services.
• Personal Belongings - Versatile Cover will provide cover up to £10,000 (15,000 with contents extra) for articles of personal use normally
worn or carried when away from the home, including jewellery, clothing, timekeeping and photographic equipment, spectacles,keys and cycles.

Q: What about any single item limits?
A: If specified on your certificate of insurance, we will pay up to £15,000 for any individual item within the home. Where individual items within the home are not specified we will pay up to £5,000 unless the item is a high risk valuable such as jewellery, gold and silver articles, furs, clocks, watches, pictures and other works of art, sculptures and collections of stamps, medals or coins, in which case we will pay up to £2,000 per item within the home if they are not specified.

Q: Are the contents in my shed or garage covered?
A: Yes! With Contents cover we will pay up to the Contents Sum Insured for contents stored in your garage or any outbuildings. We will only pay up to £2,500 for theft of your contents from a garage or your outbuildings.

Q: What is a valuable?
A: Versatile Cover considers valuables to be - jewellery (including costume jewellery), articles of or containing gold, silver or other precious metals, cameras (which include video cameras and camcorders), binoculars, watches, furs, paintings and other works of art, collections of stamps, coins and medals.
Valuables are included in Versatile Financial Services standard cover up to a value that is one third of the sum insured.

Q: What does Home Emergency cover?
A: We've all experienced the difficulty in finding a contractor following a domestic emergency or struggled to cover the cost of calling someone out, labour and parts. Problems with central heating systems, damage to roofs, doors, windows and blocked drains can be common place and often need to be repaired immediately.
Home Emergency cover is underwritten by DAS Legal Expenses Insurance Company Limited and is a valuable and cost effective add on to your home insurance. Home Emergency cover provides peace of mind that you are covered for a home emergency and our Helpline staff are available 24/7.

Q: What types of things are classed as a home emergency?
A: A home emergency is an unexpected event in your home, which might cause damage or further damage or has left your home unsafe, un-secure and therefore requires an immediate repair, e.g. failure of main heating systems, damage to plumbing and drainage systems, roof damage and loss of domestic power supply.
If your home is left uninhabitable, then Home Emergency cover will cover the costs of agreed alternative accommodation.
With Home Emergency cover you are insured up to £500 (including VAT) for the cost of the qualified person, chosen by the insurer, to deal with the emergency. This includes the call out charge, labour and any materials used to carry out the emergency repair.
In the event of your property becoming uninhabitable and remaining so overnight we shall, at your request, arrange for overnight accommodation and/or transport to such accommodation up to £100 including VAT.

Q: What work will be carried out in the event of a home emergency?
A: The purpose of Home Emergency cover is to quickly arrange for a tradesman or qualified professional to make an initial repair such as boarding up a window, fixing a burst pipe or agreeing alternative accommodation (up to £100 including VAT) if your home is uninhabitable overnight following the home emergency.

Q: Would a home emergency claim affect my no claims discount, or do I have to pay an excess if I make a claim?
A: No! Home Emergency cover does not affect your no claims discount when making a claim and there is no excess to pay. However should you need to make a claim under the buildings and/or contents section of your policy following the home emergency, this will affect your no claims discount and an excess may apply.

Q: Why Accidental Damage?
A: Accidental Damage cover protects your home and contents against accidents that can occur all too frequently at home.
Accidental damage cover added to your buildings insurance includes:

• Accidental damage to buildings, including fixtures, fittings, any part of the structure, ceilings and decorations
• Accidental breakage of underground drains and pipes
• Accidental damage to cables and underground tanks providing services to and from your home for which you are legally responsible

         Accidental damage cover added to your contents insurance includes:

• Accidental damage to the contents in your home and in the open within the grounds of your home
• Accidental damage to your TVs, DVDs, computers, laptops etc
• Accidental spillages such as spilt wine or paint

 

What is not covered  Under Accidental damage ?
Full details of the exclusions which apply are provided in our Policy Document.
Some examples of exclusions include:

• Loss or damage occurring after your home has been left unoccupied
• Loss or damage caused by a paying guest or tenant
• Loss or damage caused by wear and tear, depreciation, anything that happens gradually and mechanical and electrical breakdown
• Damage to pedal cycles
• Damage to mobile phones
• Loss or damage caused by pets
• Your chosen policy excess applies to Accidental Damage claims

 

Q: Why Personal Possessions?
A:Personal Possessions cover is a valuable extension to contents cover and insures against accidental loss or damage inside the home or outside the home, within Europe. Personal Possessions cover also insures personal articles whilst travelling elsewhere in the world (up to a maximum of 60 days during any one year of insurance)
Personal Possessions cover added to your contents insurance includes:

• You can only claim £1,500 per item for jewellery, watches, gold, and silver articles unless they are specified on the certificate
• Up to £250 to replace mobile telephone
• Up to £250 for theft of money
• Up to £500 for unauthorised credit card use
• Up to £250 to replace spectacles
• Up to £500 cover for private pedal cycles

Q: What's not covered under  Personal Possessions?
A: Full details of the exclusions which apply are provided in our Policy Document.
Some examples of exclusions include:

• You can only claim £1,500 per item for jewellery, watches, gold, and silver articles unless they are specified on the certificate
• Contact lenses or corneal lenses
• Damage to sports equipment in the course of play
• Skiing or underwater equipment whilst in use
• Money or credit cards held for trade, professional or business purposes
• Your chosen policy excess applies to Personal Possessions claims
• Loss or damage by theft to any pedal cycle left unattended in a public place without being secured by a locked chain and/or padlock

 

Q: Is my personal money and credit cards covered?
A: If you have Personal Possessions cover selected on your policy, we cover you and your family against loss of personal money (up to £250) or the unauthorised use of credit cards (up to £500) occurring anywhere in the United Kingdom and Europe and for up to a maximum of 60 days during any one year of insurance whilst travelling elsewhere in the world.

Q: Is my mobile phone covered on my home insurance policy?
A: Mobile phones are included under the Personal Possessions section of your policy. Personal Possessions cover insures against accidental loss or damage inside the home or outside the home, within Europe. Personal Possessions cover also insures personal articles whilst travelling elsewhere in the world (up to a maximum of 60 days during any one year of insurance)
Mobile Phones are covered up to £250 under the Personal Possessions section.

Q: Is my personal money and credit cards covered?
A: If you have Personal Possessions cover selected on your policy, we cover you and your family against loss of personal money (up to £250) or the unauthorised use of credit cards (up to £500) occurring anywhere in the United Kingdom and Europe and for up to a maximum of 60 days during any one year of insurance whilst travelling elsewhere in the world.

Q: Why  Legal Expenses Cover?
A: Legal Expenses cover can help you through numerous unforeseen circumstances.
Employment disputes can arise at any time, but more so during uncertain economic times. People may need to seek legal advice if they feel unfairly selected or mistreated. Dream holidays can be ruined when the hotel turns out to be a building site. A retailer may fit a new carpet badly and then refuse to rectify the situation and earnings can be lost through unfair dismissal or jury service, all of which are likely to leave you out of pocket.
Legal Expenses cover includes:

• Up to £50,000 per insured incident
• Employment Disputes
• Contract Disputes
• Bodily Injury
• Property Protection
• Tax Protection
• Legal Defence
• Clinical Negligence
• Jury service and court attendance

 

What's not covered under Legal Expenses?
Full details of the exclusions which apply are provided in our Policy Document.
Some examples of exclusions include:

• Employment disputes relating to disciplinary hearings or internal grievance procedures or any claim solely for personal injury
• Contract disputes over loans, mortgage, pensions or the lease of land or buildings
• Bodily injury caused by illness or bodily injury that has happened gradually or is not caused by a specific or sudden accident
• Clinical negligence claims relating to an alleged failure to correctly diagnose your condition
• Property Protection claims that are not relating to a contract entered into by yourself or any building or land other than your home or holiday home
• Claims arising under Property Protection for legal nuisance and/or trespass are subject to an excess of £250
• There must be more than £100 in dispute for all claims arising under Contract Disputes or Property Protection
• Tax Protection claims if you are self-employed, a sole trader or in a business partnership
• Legal Defence claims for obstruction offences or the driving of a motor vehicle by you for which you do not have valid motor insurance for.

Legal Expenses cover is underwritten by DAS Legal Expenses Insurance Company Limited

Q: Is it safe to use my credit/debit card on your site?
A: We know how important it is to protect your personal information from possible security risks so all of the information you put into our quote form is protected by encryption.

Q: What excess do I need to pay if I make a claim?
A: We have excess options that range from £50 to £500 and the excess you have chosen when applying for cover will be stated on your certificate of insurance. For Escape of Water or Oil claims the excess is £200 (or the excess on your certificate, whichever is the greater) whilst subsidence claims on Buildings Insurance carry an excess of £1,000.