Home insurance FAQs
Frequently asked home insurance questions
Your policy excess should be detailed in your policy documents (policy schedule). Your excess may vary according to the cause of the loss or damage.
If you don’t have access to your policy documents, please go to the existing customers area.
It's important you tell us if any of your personal details or details about your home change.
If you don't tell us about any changes to your personal details, including changes to your home, or if you give us incorrect information, the wrong terms may be quoted. We may also then be entitled to reject payment of a claim or a payment could be reduced. In some circumstances your policy might be invalid and you may not be entitled to a refund.
You can contact us in a number of ways.
Your cover will depend on the product you have purchased, so it's a good idea to check your policy schedule. You can find full details of the cover levels on our home insurance page.
If you bought our standard buildings policy, you’re covered for damage to underground pipes and cables that service your home and you are legally responsible for.
This cover is for damage caused by any of the following:
- Fire
- Lightning
- Explosion
- Storm
- Flood
- Theft
- Water or oil leaking
- Riot
- Malicious damage
- Subsidence
- Landslip or heave
- Falling trees or branches
- Collision
If you chose to add accidental damage cover to your buildings policy, you’re also covered for accidental breakage. This also extends to accidental damage to cables and underground tanks that service your home and you're legally responsible for.
If you bought our upgraded cover, you’re also covered for tracing and accessing water or oil leaks in your home from your heating or water system. This means we’d pay the cost to repair any part of your building damaged to locate the leak such as removing flooring, up to the policy limit.
Our policies don’t cover blockages, unless they’re the result of damage caused by the above.
Our standard home contents insurance covers business equipment in your home. It covers your computers, fax machine, printer or any other office equipment for up to £7,500.
Whether you're covered when you're working at home depends on the type of work that you're doing. If you are bringing your laptop home from the office then it's not a problem.
If you run a business from home, we are unable to insure any risks which are to be insured in the name of a company. Find out more about MORE THAN policies for businesses.
Your standard £200 Home Emergency cover can help in these situations.
If you have a home emergency, such as a leak, as standard you get:
- Access to our 24 hour legal and emergency repairs advice service
- Up to £200 for emergency domestic disasters such as roof tiles coming off or structural damage
You can choose to increase this cover to £1,000 with our upgraded Home Emergency. It also gives you up to £500 towards the cost of a new boiler if yours cannot be repaired (boilers must be under 15 years old and have been serviced in the last 12 months).
You must use a MORE THAN authorised tradesperson and cover isn’t available for the first 7 days the policy is taken out.
Read our Home Emergency guide to find out more about what standard home emergency and upgraded home emergency cover includes.
You can add this upgrade to your policy by contacting us.
Read our Home Emergency cover guide to find out more about what it can help you with. You can call any time for help with certain home emergencies where further damage is likely, or there’s a risk to health and safety.
For example, we’ll help make your home secure after a break in, or patch up the roof if it’s sprung a leak.
Your garden fences are covered under your joint Buildings & Contents policy or your Buildings only policy under certain circumstances, such as damage caused by vandalism or fire.
However, any damage to your fences caused specifically by storms or flood will not be covered.
Transportable items such as mobile phones and bicycles are covered if you take out the appropriate cover on your home insurance; you'll need to add Personal Possessions Cover as they're taken outside your home.
Bicycles generally have their own specific cover section within your home policy and provide cover whilst your bicycle is away from the home in case of theft.
Find out more about personal possessions cover and bicycle cover.
You and your family's bikes are covered in your home or shed, but you'll need to add bike cover to your policy if you want to ensure they're covered when you're out and about.
Yes, we can cover both mobility scooters and electric wheelchairs, as long as they are not licensed for road use.
If you're using them in your home they're covered under your contents cover whilst in the home.
If you're using them outside your home you'll need to make sure you have included personal possessions cover.
We also provide legal liability cover should the scooter cause any damage to third parties or their property. You will need to let us know the value of your wheelchair or scooter so that we can add it to your cover.
To add personal possessions cover please contact us.
Your home policy includes up to £1 million personal liability cover. This covers any liability for people visiting your home who may injure themselves through your negligence.
For example if someone slipped over in your bathroom because there was water on the floor or if a tradesperson such as a plumber injured themselves due to poor maintenance of your home.
Garden cover is available as an optional extra as part of our contents upgrade and gives you up to £2,000 contents in your garden cover.
So if you have not chosen to add the contents upgrade then you are not being charged for the items in your garden.
If you have chosen the upgrade and wish to remove it, or if you don't have the upgrade and would like to include it, please contact us.
Find out more about MORE THAN Legal Services and the benefits of adding it to your home insurance policy. You can add Legal Services at any time by calling us.
Buildings insurance covers the structure of your home against fire, theft and loss. This includes the walls, windows, garages and kitchens and bathrooms. Home insurance is a word we use to explain and describe buildings and contents cover. This means cover for the structure of your home and your valuables inside too. Things like sofas, televisions and carpets.
Generally speaking, if you have a mortgage you must have buildings insurance cover. Your mortgage provider may ask you to take out buildings cover as part of your loan agreement. If you own your home outright it is up to you. You are responsible for any repairs or rebuild costs if the worst should happen, such as a fire.
If you rent your property or own your own flat, you don't generally need buildings cover but check your tenancy or service agreement to make sure before buying home insurance. Your landlord or tenancy service provider will have their own buildings insurance cover for the structure of the home.
Yes, we cover water and oil leaks in our home insurance.
Trace and access cover (fixing the damage to find the source of a leak) is not included as standard. You can upgrade your buildings cover to include this cover, up to £5,000.
Read our guide on water leaks to help prevent and what to do if you get one.
The rebuild cost is typically lower than the cost of your home as you don't need to take into account the cost of the land that the property is built on.
There are websites available where you can get a free estimate of the rebuild cost of your home. Simply enter your address and postcode and they provide an indication of the rebuild cost of your home.
Go to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors website.
To get a buildings insurance quote we need to know the following:
- Personal details, such as name, date of birth and marital status
- About your property, the year it was built and rebuild costs
- Claims history (any claims for the last 3 years, if your home has been flooded in the past 5 years or if your home has ever suffered from subsistence).
We will ask you if you need to add any cover options. You can choose to add them to your home policy. These include things like accidental damage and upgraded home emergency cover.
Check out our guide about how to get a home insurance quote.
No, we don't include accidental damage as standard for our contents cover. There is an option to buy accidental damage for contents when you get a home quote.
When you are at home, yes, your mobile phone is covered. When you go out your mobile phone is not covered as standard. Depending on the value of your phone you can buy personal possession cover. This cover is for items worth under £1,000 that you take out and about with you, such as a mobile phone or tablet. If your mobile phone is worth over £1,000 you can add this as a specified item on your policy when you get a home quote.
Our comprehensive guide about insuring your mobile phone could help you decide the best cover for you.
It is your choice. Home contents insurance will cover your belongings against theft, loss or damage. You need to understand if you could afford to replace all your contents if the worst should happen, such as a fire. Check your tenancy agreement to understand if your landlord requires you to take out contents cover. Our guide about renting can help you decide what is the best option for you.
When you're thinking about the value of the contents in your home, start by valuing your home room by room. Think about the contents in each room and work out how much it would cost to replace it all.
Don't forget to consider furniture and fittings such as carpets and curtains.
We provide up to £100,000 of contents cover which can make things easier. You just need to think if this is enough to cover the contents in your home?
You can let us know about high value items here.
Yes, our contents cover does include theft in the home. If you are robbed when out, for example when you go shopping, this is not covered as standard. Add our personal possessions cover to include items you take out of your home to cover against theft.
To get a contents insurance quote we need to know the following:
- Personal details, such as name, date of birth and marital status
- About your property, the year it was built and your home ownership details
- Claims history for the last 3 years and if your home has been flooded over the last 5 year period.
We will ask you if you need to add any cover options. You can choose to add them to your home policy. These include things like accidental damage, out and about cover (personal possessions) and if you have any valuables over £1,000.
Check out our guide about how to get a home insurance quote.
Before you take out any cover, check with your landlord or letting agent to understand what cover is included in your agreement.
Generally for rented properties; you’ll only have to take out contents only cover. You can take the option to buy accidental damage for your contents.
Yes, there are. For any breakages or damage, while your home is left unoccupied or unfurnished for more than 60 days in a row, you won’t be covered. Clothing, contact lenses and deterioration of food are not covered too, along with normal aging or wear of your belongings (for example fading curtains caused by the sun) or intentional damage.
See our home insurance policy wording for full exclusions.
You will get new replacement items of the same or similar make and model of the item you are claiming for.
New-for-old home contents insurance replaces an item that's been stolen or damaged and cannot be repaired, will be replaced with a new object of the same replacement value. For example, if your television is stolen we'll replace it with an equivalent new one, even if it's several years old. Terms and conditions apply, see our home insurance policy wording for full exclusions.
Read our Home Emergency cover guide to find out more about what it can help you with. You can call any time for help with certain home emergencies where further damage is likely, or there’s a risk to health and safety.
For example, we’ll help make your home secure after a break in, or patch up the roof if it’s sprung a leak.
With our 24-hour home emergency helpline, a MORE THAN authorised tradesperson arrived within 4 hours of customers calling in 83% of cases. Based on MORE THAN data from March 2021 to February 2022.
No, we don't cover all repairs.
There are some exclusions to our cover, such as we do not cover:
- Any incident not reported to us within 48 hours of discovery
- Any incident that occurs in the first 7 days of the start of your Home Emergency cover
- Any repairs made by tradesperson not authorised by us
- Boilers over 15 years old or with an output of 60kW or more
- Cost of repairs of your main heating system if it has not been annually serviced by a registered tradesperson
- Any damage caused when the home is lived in solely by anyone other than your family
- If your home has not been lived in by you or your family for more than 60 days in a row.
See our home insurance policy wording for full details.
You need to work out the value of your bike to replace it as new. Looking at bicycle websites can help you find the value of your bike.
We cover the value of your bike up to £2,500. If your bike is more expensive call us for a quote. If we choose to replace your bike if very badly damaged or stolen, we will replace your bike with the same or similar make and model.
The home is classed as your house as well as your garage and outbuildings that are all used for domestic use.
The limits for items stolen from your home and garage or outbuilding are different; check your home insurance policy wording for more information.
Unfortunately, it is not currently possible to cancel your home insurance policy online.
Instead, contact us to make changes to your policy. Our team is here to help.
If you sign up and log into your online account area you can:
Please note that if you change your password it may take up to 24 hours to receive the reset e-mail. You can also do the following online without logging in:
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You should receive your payment schedule within ten working days of purchasing your policy. It will arrive separately to your welcome pack.
If you haven't received these details or need a copy of your policy document please contact us.
If you've received your new policy or renewal documents recently, your policy number will be on the covering letter.
If you don't have your covering letter or your policy documents to hand, or you need to request a copy of your policy documents, you can find out by getting in touch.
If you've added a conservatory to your policy, you'll need to make sure that £1 million is still enough to cover the rebuilding cost of your home.
The rebuilding cost may often be lower than the cost of your home as market value takes account of many factors including the cost of the land the property is built on.
Whether you need to individually specify your valuables such as your jewellery, watches or electrical equipment depends on their specific value and on whether the item will be taken outside the home.
Items valued at over £1,000
You need to tell us about any items valued at over £1,000. This includes items in the home such as electronics and items that you take away from the home such as watches.
Valuation certificates
You'll need to provide a valuation certificate for any valuables including jewellery or watches valued at over £3,000.
When getting a valuation, it must:
- Reflect the market value
- Be under 3 years old
- Include your name and ideally your address
- Include the name and address of the valuer
- Be in £ sterling and in English. If the valuation is in a different currency, it must be converted into sterling using the exchange rate applicable at the date of the valuation
- For jewellery or watches, the receipt must provide as much information as a full valuation (see information above). If the receipt does not have all these details, we cannot accept it.
You can tell us about high value items using this online form.
Postal paperwork usually takes between 7 to 10 working days, depending on the Royal Mail.
Depending on your situation and what you need from your insurance, there may be ways we can help you manage your payments to make sure you don’t end up uninsured.
How to get in touch
To talk to us about the options that might be available to you, you can view our phone numbers and opening hours or join a live chat with one of our team by visiting our contact us page.
Please don’t cancel your payments without speaking to us first as we may be able to help.
If you’d like some free, independent advice
There are a number of places that offer free independent advice. For example, the National Debtline offers free and impartial debt advice for people living in England, Wales or Scotland. These independent organisations offer tools and resources to support you if you are in financial difficulty. These include online budget planners, affordability calculators and information on support such as the Breathing Space scheme, which gives a 60 day period where debt cannot be pursued. This scheme can be used once in a 12 month period.
We now show your previous year’s price on your renewal invite, along with your renewal price. This will help you to compare prices based on the same cover.
In your schedule, you’ll find a detailed breakdown of your price and what’s included in your policy, including any additional cover options you chose. This will help you compare your policy should you wish to shop around.
If you do, please be aware that some of our policy benefits may be available to our existing customers only, so it’s important that you consider this in your comparisons.
We’re showing your total price as we want you to be able to make an easy comparison. We show an annualised cost because your monthly instalments might have changed if you made a change to your policy during the year.
On your renewal invite we’ve told you:
- how much your annual price is if you choose to make a one-off payment,
- your monthly Direct Debit amount including the interest charge, if it applies, and
- the total amount this will be across the whole year including the interest charge, if it applies.
Prices can increase for several reasons, even if you haven’t made a claim. It could be down to:
- Changes to your personal details
- Changes to your level of cover
- Regulatory changes that affect pricing across the whole insurance industry
- Changes to government taxes, such as an increase in Insurance Premium Tax
- General market conditions, like the increasing cost of repairs or replacing damaged items.
If your insurance is set up to automatically renew, then your policy will renew each year without you having to do anything.
You can decide whether you want your policy to automatically renew or not. Choosing auto-renewal saves time and hassle, plus it keeps your home insured.
It’s really simple. When your policy is about to end, we’ll write to you before taking payment so that you can check you’re happy with the cover and renewal price.
If you are, you don’t have to do anything - the renewal payment is simply debited from your bank account and your cover will continue.
No problem. Just contact us and we can either amend or cancel your policy.
New regulations mean customers can opt-out of auto-renewal at any time.
If you don’t want your policy to automatically renew, we’ll still get in touch with your renewal details before your cover expires. You’ll need to tell us if you want to renew your policy, otherwise your cover will stop and you’ll no longer be insured.
This is a personal choice. Many people prefer the convenience and peace of mind that comes with automatically staying covered, especially as we send you a renewal letter outlining your level of cover and the renewal price before taking any payment.
If you pay monthly you can opt-out of auto-renewal by filling out this form. If you pay for your policy annually your cover won’t auto-renew.
If you’re not happy with your cover, please contact us and we can either amend or cancel your policy.
We’ll send you a renewal letter before your policy ends and it will outline your cover and renewal price. It’ll also remind you that you’ll need to contact us if you want to renew your policy.
If we don’t hear from you by your renewal date, we’ll cancel your policy and confirm this in writing. This means your cover will stop and you’ll no longer be insured.
No, it’s completely free.
You can see if your policy is set up to automatically renew by looking at your renewal documents. Also, your renewal letter will tell you whether you need to do anything.
Yes, you can enable auto-renewal at any time. Just give us a call and we’ll switch it back on.
To change your payment type to Direct Debit or to amend the payment date, please contact us.
Please ensure you have the details of the account that the Direct Debit will be paid from to hand, including the account number and sort code.
If you have a query about a payment or your payment dates, please complete and submit our payment query form.
We’re showing your total price as we want you to be able to make an easy comparison. We show an annualised cost because your monthly instalments might’ve changed if you made a change to your policy during the year.
On your renewal invite we’ve told you:
- how much your annual price is if you choose to make a one-off payment,
- your monthly Direct Debit amount including the interest change, if it applies,
- and the total amount this will be across the whole year including the interest charge, if it applies.
You should receive your payment schedule within ten working days of purchasing your policy. It will arrive separately to your welcome pack.
If you haven't received these details or need a copy of your policy document please contact us.
The credit or debit card payment is taken between 24 to 48 hours later and will appear as RSA on your bank statement.
If you choose to pay for your insurance monthly and an APR charge applies, we are required under FCA regulations to make sure that you can afford the payments.
This is perfectly normal and all insurance providers will be doing this, either by asking questions directly during a quote or by using your data to make an assessment.
If our assessment indicates that you can’t afford the monthly payments, we can still offer you the annual option (where you can make a one-off payment to purchase your cover).
If you need to make a change to your policy and our assessment then indicates that you can’t afford the outstanding monthly payments, you’ll still get the chance to make a one-off payment for the outstanding amount.
No. If you need to make a mid-term adjustment (a change, like your address) to your policy and our assessment indicates that you can’t afford the outstanding monthly payments, you’ll get the chance to make a one-off payment for the outstanding amount.
If you’re unable to make a single payment, you can cancel your policy free of charge.
If you need to make a mid-term adjustment (change) to your policy and our assessment indicates that you can’t afford the outstanding monthly payments – and you’re unable to make a single payment - your policy may be cancelled. If that happens, your no claims bonus will not be recognised for that year.
Make a claim
It is easy to start a claim online. You’ll need to have your policy schedule to hand and as many details of the damage as possible.
If you need 24/7 emergency assistance, contact 0800 300 684.
If you have hearing or speech difficulties you can use Relay UK via textphone by adding 18001 before dialling; or simply download the Relay UK App on your mobile or tablet.
Track a claim
To track an existing claim please contact us.
First check your policy schedule to confirm you’re covered. Go to our claims page to find out how to make a claim.
First check your policy schedule to confirm you’re covered. Go to our claims page to find out how to make a claim.
Before you start a claim you’ll need to check your policy includes cover for this item away from the home. Go to our claims page to find out how to make a claim.
Before you start a claim you’ll need to check your policy includes accidental damage. Go to our claims page to find out how to make a claim.
Gather your immediate belongings where possible, such as your phone and charger, medication, identification, important documentation and clothes, and move them somewhere dry.
Then please phone us on 0330 100 7783.
If you have hearing or speech difficulties you can use Relay UK via textphone by adding 18001 before dialling; or simply download the Relay UK App on your mobile or tablet.
Once you’ve registered your claim with us, and where your home is uninhabitable as a result of the damage, we’ll make sure you and your family (pets included) have suitable alternative accommodation.
Once we’ve checked your cover our experts will take steps to deal with the damage caused to your property.
No, we’ll normally ask you to obtain an itemised quote for fixing the damage.
Flood Re is a scheme that has been set up by the Government and the insurance industry to provide increased availability and choice of insurers for customers at the highest risk of flooding – it went live on 4 April 2016. All insurers who have signed up to the scheme including MORE THAN will contribute to the Flood Re fund.
Flooding has become a major issue for some homeowners or tenants who live in a high risk flood area and as a direct result the cost of insuring their properties has increased dramatically. They have faced difficulties finding insurance with affordable premiums and excesses. Flood Re has been introduced to increase availability and choice of insurers for customers at the highest risk of flooding.
The general eligibility criteria* for Flood Re is that the property is a domestic home, built before 2009 and is occupied by the owner. If it is a rented property, cover is only available for tenants' possessions.
You can request the flooding history for a property on the Environment Agency's website. Your estate agent may also be able to confirm if the property has ever been flooded.
As a customer, you will still buy your home insurance policy from us, and contact us to make a claim if you’ve been affected by flooding. You will not need to deal with Flood Re.
If you have a home insurance policy with us and would like to speak to us about how Flood Re will impact your renewal, please call us.
* You can find out more about how the scheme works on the Flood Re website or download the Flood Re leaflet.
If you bought your policy via a site such as Quidco/Topcashback
When you buy a policy via a cashback site it can take up to six months for you to get paid.
If you've not received your cashback after this period please contact the cashback website direct as MORE THAN customer managers will not have access to the specific details of the offer.
If you bought your policy direct with MORE THAN or a comparison website using our cashback offer
We'll pay you cashback within 90 days of the start of your policy. If after 90 days you haven't received your cheque please e-mail enquiries@morethan.com using the subject line 'Cashback query'.
Make sure you include your name, address, policy number and contact details. All cashback offers will end on 30 November 2021.
If you’ve received your policy documents and noticed the name RSA on them, you may have wondered why.
MORE THAN is a brand of the RSA Group, a company with hundreds of years of experience in the insurance industry. All home insurance policies bought through MORE THAN are underwritten and administered by Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Ltd.
Find out more about RSA and MORE THAN.
We are supporting our customers who are most in need by prioritising their calls. Please only call us:
- Where contacting us by telephone is your only option
- To submit a claim
- To renew your policy
- If you have been unable to contact us to pay your renewal due to illness and are worried you may now be uninsured
Please note that you may have to wait longer than normal, but our team will aim to answer your call as soon as they can.
Or, you may be able to ask a family member, friend, or carer to help complete our online form.
If you are:
- Impacted by coronavirus
- In self-isolation or caring for someone who is
- Suffering a health issue that prevents you from managing it yourself
Then you can nominate someone to manage your policy on your behalf. If a friend, family member or carer has your consent, they can pay your premium and make some changes to your policy.
To find out more, they can contact us using our online form and we will do our best to support them. Please ask them to specify on the online form that they have your permission to talk to us on your behalf.
If you need specialist help for a loved one, please see below a list of organisations that can offer further support:
- Age UK:
- NHS Responders: for those in need of support from an NHS volunteer
- Alzheimer's UK: Alzheimer’s Society coronavirus advice
We will do what we can to help. If you are worried that your policy has been cancelled and you are now uninsured, or to see our opening hours, please visit our contact us page.
You do not need to tell us if you are carrying out clerical work from home, such as using a laptop or phone.
Please contact us if:
- You have visitors to your home on business matters, for example, if you have face to face meetings with clients or co-workers
- Your business makes or sells goods from your home or you store any of these items at your home
- You’re offering services from your home, for example, providing beauty treatments, hairdressing, childminding, dog grooming, private tutoring or being an exercise instructor etc
- You have established, or are planning to establish, a business from home, or have moved the running of your business to your home premises.
If you're using business equipment owned by your employer, for example, a laptop, it’s their responsibility to insure it, so you don’t need to add it to your policy.
Their equipment is not covered under our home insurance policy, unless you're responsible for any damage to the equipment under the terms of your employment.
If the business equipment is owned by you, it will be covered under your contents insurance. Please check your policy schedule and policy wording for more details and limits.
- Staying with friends, family or carers whilst self-isolating
- Being unable to travel home from abroad
- Being in hospital.
Our policy usually allows for your home to be unoccupied for up to 60 days before certain restrictions apply.
However, we will waive these restrictions if that is unavoidable as a result of coronavirus. You do not need to contact us to let us know if your home will be unoccupied due to coronavirus.
If you are planning to leave your property unoccupied, here are some tips to help protect it:
- Ask a friend or neighbour to keep an eye on your property;
- Ensure your windows and doors are locked (and remove keys) and set your alarm;
- Switch off and unplug electrical items;
- Turn off the gas at the mains, unless it’s required for an automatically controlled heating system;
- Turn off the water at the mains and drain the system unless an automatically controlled heating system requiring the water supply is left in operation.
If the home is occupied by anyone other than you or your family, certain restrictions apply. Please see your policy wording for details.
However, we will waive these restrictions if your friend or carer is staying with you as a result of coronavirus restrictions.
If your friend or carer continues to stay with you after this period you must tell us so we can update your policy.
You are able to renew your policy, make a claim and update your details online, please visit our existing customer area.
