What You Need To Know About Domestic Insurance

Have you personally been affected by Storm Doris? If so, don’t worry, you may be able to claim for any repairs you need to have done to your home. There are a few things you need to know before you try to claim though, and some things you need to be aware of if you want to be prepared for next time.

Contents vs Building Insurance

Most domestic building insurance does include cover for storm damage, but you should bear in mind that this is the buildings insurance and not the contents insurance, which is a completely different thing. The contents insurance is what you should have if you’re a tenant in a rented property, while the landlord should have buildings insurance on the building itself.

If you own your own home, then you should have both.

Wind speeds

To work out whether the weather is severe enough to feasibly cause damage to property, insurers use the Beaufort Scale. The Beaufort Scale is used to measure wind speeds, and in the case of some severe weather, it can be used to gauge whether you’re entitled to a pay-out for any damage done to your home.

Wind speeds on the Beaufort Scale that measure a certain number are classified as being strong enough to cause damage to property, and will normally be covered by your insurance policy.

Emergency Repairs

If your home is damaged and you think it’s at risk of causing you problems or severe discomfort before you can arrange for a payout from your insurance company you should do emergency repairs at the same time as speaking with your insurance company about your claim.

Most insurance companies will have out-of-hours helplines so you can speak to them in an emergency, but you should also keep receipts and details of any repairs you have done in the meantime.

Be sure to document the damage and the repairs done to your home with lots of photos, as you might need these when making your claim later.

What’s Not Covered

What’s not usually covered is any damage to anything movable, like gates and fences, although insurers will view all the claims on a case-by-case basis so it’s always worth having the conversation with them if you do suffer damage to these in a storm.

Wherever possible you should store and secure anything that could be damaged during a storm, to ensure it doesn’t get damaged but also that it doesn’t come loose and damage other parts of your property by smashing windows etc.

Although you may be covered for that kind of damage, it’s still a hassle to have to get it repaired and it makes your home less secure in the meantime.