What’s home insurance?
Home insurance (sometimes known as house insurance) is there to protect your happy place.
It means you’ve got a safety net if your home or belongings are damaged. Theft, fire, floods – we cover all these and more.
It’s made up of two parts:
- Buildings insurance covers the structure of your home.
- Contents insurance covers the things inside it.
What does home insurance cover?
Your home insurance is there to protect your property and your belongings inside it.
Here are just some of the situations we cover:
Storm
We protect your home against severe weather, including damage from falling branches and trees.
That’s as long as you keep on top of looking after your home.
Heads up – we don’t cover damage to fences, gates or hedges.
Visit our storm hub to find out more about what we class as a storm, and what exactly our home insurance covers.
Water leaks
We’ll help deal with burst pipes, leaking appliances and other plumbing damage.
Find out a little more about water leak claims.
Flood damage
If a flood damages your home and your belongings, we’ll be there to lend a helping hand.
Find out more about flood insurance or check out some of our handy guides on flooding.
Theft or vandalism
Cover if someone steals from you or vandalises your home and belongings. Make sure you call the police as soon as you can if this happens to you.
We’ll need a crime reference number to look into your claim.
Fire and smoke
Cover if fire or smoke damages your home or your belongings inside it. Read our guide on house fires and what to do if you have one.
Collisions
We’ll protect your home against collisions involving:
- cars, vans or other vehicles
- animals
- an aircraft
Alternative accommodation
If your home’s not safe to live in because of an emergency, we’ll cover:
- the cost of somewhere for you, your family and pets to stay while your home’s being repaired, or
- the rent you still need to pay if you’re a tenant
What doesn’t home insurance cover?
While we try to have your back in lots of situations, there are a few things home insurance doesn't cover you for:
- Damage caused by wear and tear – this is damage that happens slowly over time, or from everyday use.
- Damage caused by a lack of maintenance – we expect you to keep your home in good condition all year round.
- Your appliances breaking down. Check the appliance’s warranty to see if the manufacturer can help.
- Damage caused by the weather, if the weather conditions didn’t match what we count as a storm. You can find out more about what that is on our storm hub. We also don’t cover storm damage to fences, gates and hedges.
- Deliberate damage.
- Loss or damage caused by pets chewing, scratching, tearing, vomiting or having a toilet-related accident.
- Claims where the excess is more than the value of the claim. For example, if the damage to an electrical appliance is £100 but you have a £200 excess, you can’t make a claim.
Policy documents
For more information on what is and isn’t covered, check your policy book.
Compare our cover levels
| Admiral | Admiral Gold |
Admiral Platinum |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| 24-hour helpline | |||
| Unlimited buildings cover (eligibility criteria applies) | |||
| Contents cover |
£100,000 |
£125,000 |
£150,000 |
| Alternative accommodation limits (Buildings) |
£50,000 |
£75,000 |
£100,000 |
| Alternative accommodation limits (Contents) |
£15,000 |
£20,000 |
£25,000 |
| Trace and access |
£5,000 |
£5,000 |
£10,000 |
| Bicycle cover |
£350 |
£350 |
£350 |
| Home Emergency cover | Optional | ||
| Personal Possessions cover | Optional | Optional |
£2,000 |
| Accidental Damage cover | Optional | Optional | |
| Home Emergency Extra cover | Optional | Optional | |
| Home Legal Expenses | Optional | Optional |
Optional add-ons
Still looking for more? We offer lots of optional add-ons, so you can tailor your cover to suit you.
Home Emergency cover
If something happens in your home and needs fixing quickly, we’ll sort out a temporary repair. For example, if your boiler breaks or a pipe bursts.
Accidental Damage cover
We all know accidents happen! Our add-on helps protects you if your home or belongings are accidentally damaged – like dropping your phone on the kitchen floor and cracking the screen.
Personal Possessions cover
Get extra cover for your most treasured possessions. With up to £20,000 cover, make sure they’re protected wherever you take them in the world.
Home Legal Expenses
24/7 legal advice to help you and your family with issues like employment or property disputes – and up to £100,000 in legal costs.
Bicycle cover
Whether you cycle to work or want to take a cycling holiday abroad, get cover for your bikes worth more than £350.
High Risk Item cover
Get the right cover for your valuable belongings worth more than £2,000, like jewellery or laptops.
Do I need home insurance?
Unlike car insurance, home insurance isn’t a legal requirement. But it can give you peace of mind knowing you have a safety net if something goes wrong.
I'm a homeowner
If you’re a homeowner, that means you’re responsible for your home and what’s inside it.
Combined home insurance would be best for you because it includes both buildings and contents cover.
Remember, a lot of mortgage providers will ask you to have home insurance when you buy a house.
I'm a renter
If you rent your home, you won’t need combined insurance. Your landlord should have buildings cover already.
You’ll just need insurance to cover your belongings, like your furniture and clothes.
This is sometimes known as contents insurance, or tenants or renters insurance.
I'm a landlord renting my property
If you’re a landlord, home insurance isn’t right for you. Instead, you’ll need to look at landlord insurance.
It covers everything that buildings insurance does, but it also includes cover for things like loss of rent.
I rent out my home short-term
If you live in the property but rent it out on a short-term basis sometimes using sites like Airbnb, you’ll need host insurance.
It covers you for things like vandalism and damage. Good news – host insurance is included as standard on all our levels of cover.
How to make a claim on your home insurance
Check your cover
Read your policy documents to check what you’re covered for and your excess
Get your info ready
Get your policy number and details of what’s happened together
Get in touch
Head to our make a claim page log in to MyAccount to get started
Want to know what happens after you’ve made a claim?
Check out our handy timeline, so you know exactly what to expect.
What do I need to get a quote?
Ready to get a quote? Here’s what you’ll need to get started.
Your personal details
- Name
- Date of birth
- Contact details, like your email and phone number
- If you’ve made any home insurance claims in the last five years
Details about your home
- Your address
- What material your house is made from
- The type of security measures you have, like security cameras and alarms
Details about your policy
- What type of cover you want – buildings, contents or combined
- If you want any optional extras, like Accidental Damage cover
What the experts say
Jonathan Williams, Home Product Manager
Buying home insurance is almost as important as buying your home – just maybe not as exciting! When you get a quote, think carefully about your budget and how much cover you need. It’s important you can afford your payments, but also that you have enough cover if you need to make a claim.
How is my home insurance price calculated?
We use lots of different factors to work out how much your home insurance is going to cost. And we’re always checking our prices to make sure you get the right one for you and your happy place.
Head to our home resource hub
Whether you need a hand with some home maintenance or advice on making a claim, we’ve got a guide for you.
Wear and tear explained
Not sure what wear and tear means, and how it affects your home insurance? We’ve here to help.
Know your stuff
What can invalidate your home insurance?
Here are some things to watch out for that could invalidate your insurance.
Find out moreRead more about our customers' experiences
We care what our customers have to say about us.
Your questions answered
We’ve got the answers to your most asked questions.
What’s the best type of home insurance?
There’s no ‘best’ type of home insurance – it's whatever is right for you and your home!
You’ll need a slightly different policy depending on:
- whether you want buildings, contents or combined home insurance
- what level of cover you’re looking for
The important thing is that your policy covers you fully if something goes wrong. Get a quote and pop in all of the details we ask for to figure out what policy is right for you.
If you’re not sure on something, get in touch with us and we’ll be happy to help.
How much cover will I need?
It depends on how much your home and belongings are worth.
The two important things you’ll need to work out are:
- Your contents value – this is how much all your belongings are worth in total. We have a handy guide on how to work out the value of your contents.
- Your rebuild cost – this is how much it would cost to rebuild your home from scratch. We have an in-depth guide on how to calculate your rebuild cost.
You also need to think about how much protection you want. If you choose a higher level of cover, like Platinum, you’ll have higher limits and extra benefits.
How much does home insurance cost?
The cost of your home insurance depends on lots of different things, including:
- where you live
- how big your home is
- the risk of severe weather in your area, including floods
- previous claims
There’s no one set price – it's different for everyone. Find out more about what factors affect the cost of your home insurance.
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Our data*
2,193,954 active policies sold as of 10 March 2026.