What Is The Best Cottage Insurance?

Home is where the heart is - but it's also where a lot of your wealth is tied up. Owning a cottage is a big commitment, but even if you rent, you'll have a lot invested in your personal possessions.

So it's worth insuring your cottage and its contents - but where to start?

Insurance can be complicated and full of jargon. So we've simplified it a bit, and tried to put everything you need to know about cottage insurance on a single page.

Do I need building insurance for my cottage?

Buildings insurance covers the structure of your cottage against damage. That damage might be caused by flood, fire, storm, subsidence, vandalism, burst or leaky pipes, or even by accident.

The key to buildings insurance is that it covers anything you can't move. Fitted kitchens, the bathroom suite, and your central heating system are covered - but furniture won't be, for instance. (That's covered by contents insurance, instead, which will also cover your personal possessions.)

If you own a cottage, do you need building insurance?

If you have a mortgage and own a cottage, you'll need building insurance. If you own your cottage outright, it's still worth having - if your cottage was destroyed by fire, you'd be able to rebuild it.

If you rent a cottage, do you need building insurance?

No, you don't need to insure the building. The building belongs to your landlord, who is responsible for any necessary repairs. That includes certain fixtures and fittings - sinks, baths, toilets, plumbing, gas pipes, electrical work, and central heating. Basically, if you can't move it, the landlord's responsible.

Do I need content insurance for my cottage?

Home contents insurance covers the contents of your cottage - that is, anything which is not the building, or fixed to the building. It's one of two components of home insurance - buildings and contents.

So for instance, while your building insurance will cover any damage to your roof, or replastering and painting after a flood, your contents cover would pay out if the water damaged your TV, furniture, or clothes in your cottage.

You'll be covered for a certain value, and there are usually two types of limit;

• first of all there's an overall cover figure, such as £35,000 for the contents of cottage,
• and then there's also a limit on the amount you can claim for any single item, which will probably be between £1,000 and £2,500.

Remember that contents includes your washing machine, fridge, and cooker; your carpets and curtains; and all your furniture, pictures, cushions, and rugs. Those would be costly to replace in the event of a fire or flood, though they're probably not as likely to be stolen as your jewellery or your TV.

Do I need content insurance If I rent my cottage?

There's no law that says you have to get cottage insurance. It's up to you. But if you own things that are worth a fair amount of money, you'll need a renter's insurance for your cottage to cover your own possessions.

Do I need content insurance if I own my cottage?

Same thing as if you rent a cottage, it is better to be covered for the content of your, cottage, although this is not required by law.

Buy to let cottage insurance

If you own a cottage, or multiple cottage, and you rent them out furnished or part-furnished, you should thing taking out content cottage insurance. Of course, this will cover only your possessions, and not your tenant possessions.

What is covered by cottage contents insurance?

If you take out cottage contents insurance, here what you will probably find covered or not:

cottage contents insurance	Covered?
Furniture	Yes
Clothes	Yes
Kitchen equipment, and electricals	Yes
Electricals	Yes
Cash	Yes
Garden content	Yes
Third party Liability	Not always
Accidental damages	Optional
Home emergency cover	Optional
Personal possession	Not always

How to make a quote for cottage insurance?

When making a quote for cottage insurance, you will be asked if :

• Your cottage has it own lockable entrance or if is self contained

You will have also to answer tons of questions about:

• The localization of your cottage
• The type of door you have
• if you have a patio door
• If there are trees near your cottage

You will also be asked how much you want to insure the content of your cottage.

How much is cottage insurance?

We analyzed datas, and we came out with this average cottage insurance cost for content and building insurance.

Building cottage insurance cost

An average buildings cottage insurance policy costs around £110-120 a year.

However, it depends on a number of factors including the size of your cottage being insured, the location and the type of construction. So you'll need to get a buildings insurance quote to be sure exactly what you'll pay for your own cottage.

Contents cottage insurance cost

According to the Association of British Insurers, the average cottage contents insurance policy costs £139 a year.

That adds up to £11.58 a month, which really isn't a great deal to protect yourself against losing all your stuff.

Of course, you're not average! Depending on your lifestyle and the type of cottage you occupy, you may need to spend more to get the cover you need - or maybe a little less.

What are the best cottage insurance?

You'll find under this table the best contents cottage insurance:

	Legal cover	Home emergency	Accidental damage	Cover Level	Montly premium
	No	No	Yes	£30,000 / contents £150,000 building	£15.79
	No	Yes	Yes	£30,000 / contents £150,000 building	£16.23
	No	No	Yes	£30,000 / contents £150,000 building	£17.27
	Yes	Yes	Yes	£30,000 / contents £150,000 building	£20.45
	No	No	Yes	£30,000 / contents £150,000 building	£22.63

Do I need cottage holiday insurance?

It depends if your cottage is your second home, if it is not your main residence, you should take out a cottage holiday insurance, check out this article to know more about it.

Will I be insure if I leave my cottage unoccupied?

You can leave your cottage unoccupied, but days covered are limited:

Insurance Provider	Empty cottage insurance / Covered days
	30 days
	45 days
	60 days
	60 days
	60 days
	60 days
	60 days
	60 days
	90 days
	90 days

If you want to know more, check out this page.