BUILDINGS INSURANCE
Feel secure and protected with Buildings cover up to £1 million
5 star rated Buildings cover with a 2-year fixed price
Because it’s more than bricks and mortar, you want to be sure you have the right cover in place should the unexpected happen to your home. Saga’s Buildings cover is available with a 2-year fixed price, if nothing changes, so you can rest easy knowing you’re protected. T&Cs apply.
What is buildings insurance?
Buildings insurance protects your home against the unexpected, making sure that you can afford to repair damage caused by events such as fires, floods, or storms. The price of buildings insurance is determined by the type, size, value and location of your property, and should cover the full cost of rebuilding your house from the ground up, including outbuildings.
What does buildings insurance cover?
Buildings insurance typically covers damage to walls, windows, doors and the roof, and to permanent fixtures and fittings such as baths, toilets and fitted kitchens. It will also cover costs against damage to garages, sheds and garden walls, and the cost of replacing items such as pipes, cables and drains if accidentally damaged.
What does Saga Plus Buildings cover include?
2-year fixed price
You'll get a price for one year's cover but, because we fix this for your next renewal, as long as nothing changes, you'll pay the same price next year. T&Cs apply.
Accidental Damage
Cover for everyday mishaps causing damage to your home or its fixtures and fittings.
Alternative accommodation
If you can't live in your home during a claim.
No cancellation fee
If you cancel during the year we won't charge you a cancellation fee.
Claims promise
Making a claim won't affect your 2-year fixed price unless it's for Accidental Damage.
Cover for when your home is left unoccupied for up to 60 days in a row
Such as if you go on a long holiday.
Trace and Access included
Finding and fixing a water or oil leak causing damage to your buildings, even if caused by wear and tear, up to sum insured.
A choice of cover levels
Saga Select is our no-nonsense cover. While it doesn’t come with our 2-year fixed price or other extra features you get with Saga Plus, it’s still 5-star Defaqto rated. And you can also add optional extras.
Saga Plus includes even more great features for Buildings cover and a price that stays the same for two years. You can find out more in the 2-year fixed price terms and conditions.
Not sure which buildings insurance policy to choose? Compare the two policies and decide which one will best suit your needs.
Compare cover levels
| Situation | Saga Select | Saga Plus |
|---|---|---|
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A violent storm damages your roof. |
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You lose your keys and need new locks fitted to your external doors. |
Up to £1,000 |
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You need to stay in alternative accommodation while your home is being repaired during a claim, if your property becomes uninhabitable due to an insured event. |
Up to £100,000 |
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You put a hot pan on the kitchen worktop and damage the surface. |
Optional |
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Your flooring has to be replaced because we took it up to trace and fix a leaking water pipe causing damage to your home. |
Up to £5,000 |
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You damage the bath while doing DIY and it can’t be repaired or replaced to match the sink and toilet – we will replace the whole set. |
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2-year fixed price – if nothing changes you can expect to pay the same price for 2 years (T&C apply). |
Who provides Saga Home Insurance?
Saga Home Insurance is arranged and administered by Ageas Retail Limited and underwritten by Ageas Insurance Limited.
Get a quote for Buildings cover today
What isn’t covered by buildings insurance?
A buildings insurance policy will typically not cover general wear and tear, damage caused by neglecting your property and bad workmanship, but exclusions vary between providers.
Full details can be found in the policy book. Here are some examples of what is not covered by Saga Buildings Insurance policies:
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Loss or damage caused by wear and tear or gradual deterioration
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Loss or damage caused by subsidence, ground heave or landslip to boundary and garden walls, gates, hedges, fences, paths, terraces, drives, patios, permanently-built swimming pools or ornamental pools, tennis courts, septic tanks, or central-heating gas or oil tanks unless your home is damaged at the same time by the same cause
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Movement to solid floor slabs unless the foundations beneath the outside walls of your home are damaged at the same time by the same cause
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Settlement
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Swelling or shrinking of infill materials
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The coast or river bank being worn away
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Storm or flood to timber gates, fences and hedges
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Structural changes, structural repairs or demolition
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Faulty workmanship, faulty design or using faulty materials
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Lopping, topping or felling of trees on your property
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Malicious acts or vandalism by you or any persons lawfully in your home
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Malicious acts or vandalism, escape of water or theft or attempted theft when your home is unoccupied or unfurnished
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Any excess shown in your schedule
How does buildings insurance differ from contents insurance?
Buildings only insurance covers the structure of the home insured and its fixtures and fittings, as well as any outbuildings. Contents insurance covers items of value kept within the home and sometimes when you take those items outside.
Home and buildings insurance are sometimes used as interchangeable terms, which might make you wonder if buildings insurance is the same as home insurance. In a policy you can buy cover for your buildings insurance and then cover for your contents insurance. Some policies cover both buildings and contents together and just refer to this as home insurance to keep things simple.
At Saga we offer separate policies for Buildings and Contents, or we can combine Buildings and Contents cover together, as we believe in making our insurance simple to understand and easy for you to make a claim when necessary.
How much should I insure my building for?
Your home needs to have buildings insurance cover for the amount it would cost to rebuild the property today, rather than the current market value or the amount you bought it for. If your home is damaged or destroyed in an accident, buildings insurance will cover the cost of rebuilding it to current building regulations, including clearing the land and architect/surveyors fees.
Getting the amount you are insured for right is important as with too little buildings insurance you could be left short – or even without cover – when it comes to needing to rebuild your home.
Defaqto 5 Star rated home insurance
We are proud to offer five-star cover every day with Saga Home Insurance – Defaqto 5 Star rated every year since 2014.
Do you need buildings insurance?
Buildings insurance cover isn’t a legal requirement in the UK, but if you have a mortgage on your property then the mortgage provider won't usually lend money for the mortgage without it.
If you own your home outright, it’s still a good idea to have annual buildings insurance in place to guard against unexpected costs. If you are buying a new home, you should have cover in place when you exchange contracts, as that’s when you become financially responsible for the property.
Having buildings insurance means that you will be covered for what can be very high costs if your home is damaged and in need of major repairs or even a complete rebuild.
How do I work out the rebuild value of my house?
Buildings insurance costs depend on the rebuild value of your home, and while property prices vary across the country, the costs of labour, materials and surveys for a rebuild have increased for everyone.
With industry costs rising so sharply in recent years, you need to make sure you still have the right amount of cover should you need to use it, based on an up-to-date rebuild value.
Current rebuild costs will vary depending on whether your property is built from standard or non-standard materials. If you have a home that's built of non-standard materials (that is, not brick, stone or concrete), or that's listed or has special architectural features, rebuild costs may be higher.
If you haven't calculated the rebuild value of your property for insurance purposes recently, here's how you can do it.
For standard-built houses and some types of flats, you can use an online calculator from the Building Cost Information Service to give you an idea of the rebuild value of your house. However, the BCIS calculator cannot be used for listed buildings due to the many additional complexities involved in rebuilding them. It will also not take into account any special features, such as extensive landscaping or swimming pools.
To get an accurate value for the rebuild cost of a listed property, you may need to get a professional surveyor to complete a rebuilding cost assessment of the property.
For standard properties that meet our acceptance criteria, we offer Buildings cover of up to £1 million, so we don't ask you for your exact rebuild cost.
Buildings FAQs
Saga is a member of the Flood Re insurance scheme, which was developed by the government and insurance industry aimed at helping households that have the highest risk of flooding. It allows the insurer to pass the flood risk part of your Buildings cover onto Flood Re, making insurance more widely available to those homes that have a high risk of flooding.
For more information and to find out if you are eligible, please visit our Flood Re page.
Buildings cover from Saga covers trace, access and repair of a water or oil leak that is causing damage to your home, even when the cause is wear and tear.
Saga’s Buildings cover policies will cover you as long as it has been agreed in advance for locating the source of water or oil damage including the reinstatement of any wall, flooring or ceiling removed or damaged during the search and the repair of any leaking water or oil pipes.
You're insured against water damage caused by leaking or overflowing domestic drains, water or heating installations, kitchen appliances and fixed domestic water installations.
It depends what has caused the damage. A roof can be damaged by storms, falling debris or just by gradual wear and tear, so if roof damage is caused by sudden action from a storm or a fallen tree, then you’re likely to be covered. But if the damage is a result of wear and tear, you will not be covered.
Saga Plus and Saga Select policies cover loss or damage caused by falling trees, branches, lampposts, telegraph poles, electricity pylons, poles or overhead cables, to the insured amount.
The majority of buildings insurance policies will cover your property against subsidence as standard if it hasn’t been affected by subsidence in the past. Saga Buildings cover policies insure your property for subsidence, ground heave of the site on which the building stands, or landslip.
Buildings insurance should usually start when you become legally responsible for a property, rather than when you move into the property. When you exchange contracts (in Scotland this is known as "conclusion of missives"), you need to make sure you have cover in place. Mortgage lenders will typically insist you have cover in place from this date until your mortgage is paid off. If you are buying a property without a mortgage, it is still important to have good buildings insurance cover in place from the date you become the legal owner.
Please note that this is for information only and does not constitute legal advice. If you are in any doubt, ask your solicitor who will be able to advise you when your buildings insurance should start.
More from Saga
There's plenty to explore and learn about our home insurance and discover what else Saga has to offer.
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Saga Mortgages are here to help you with remortgaging, Income Boost, Deposit Boost and Retirement Interest-Only mortgages.
Flood re – Flood risk home insurance
Our home insurance with Flood Re can make it easier and more affordable to cover your home if it’s in a high-risk flooding area.
When to worry about cracks in plaster walls
When should you worry about cracks in plaster and what can you do to repair them?
Garage Insurance
Does a home insurance policy include your garage contents? Read our garage insurance guide.
Additional home insurance cover options
Tailor your home insurance policy to suit your needs with optional covers such as Saga Home Emergency and Legal Expenses.
Bicycle insurance
Enjoy your two-wheel adventures more when you get the right bike insurance.
Emergency cover
Get cover for home emergencies with a 24/7 emergency helpline, unlimited callouts and up to £2,000 per incident. Optionally include cover for your boiler & heating too.
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