Buildings Insurance

Feel secure and protected with buildings insurance up to £1 million

Defaqto Expert Rated 5 Star 2014 to 2021

5 star rated buildings insurance cover with a 3-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 award-winning buildings insurance is available with a 3-year fixed price, if nothing changes, so you can rest easy knowing you’re protected for the future.

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 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.

At Saga, our 5-star rated Saga Plus buildings insurance cover includes:

A 3-year fixed price - with Saga Plus your price won’t go up for three years, if nothing changes. You can make changes to your policy whenever you need to, and you don’t have to renew if you don’t want to. T&Cs apply
Claims promise - most claims won’t affect the price, based on claims made in 2019 and 2020
No cancellation fee - cancel during the year if you want to – we won't charge you a cancellation fee
Accidental damage - cover for everyday mishaps causing damage to your home or its fixtures & fittings
Alternative accommodation - if you can't live in your home during a claim
Extended cover - for when your home is unoccupied for up to 60 days in a row, such as if you go on a long holiday
Trace, access and repair of water and oil leaks - finding and fixing a water or oil leak in your home, even if caused by wear and tear, up to sum insured with Saga Plus or up to £5,000 with Saga Select.

Saga Plus includes even more great features for buildings insurance cover and a price that stays the same for three years. You can find out more in the 3-year fixed price terms and conditions.

Saga Select is our no-nonsense cover. While it doesn’t come with our 3-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.

Not sure which buildings insurance policy to choose? Compare the two policies and decide which one will best suit your needs.

A choice of cover levels

Situation	Saga Select	Saga Plus
A violent storm damages your roof	Yes	Yes
	(Up to £1m)
You lose your keys and need new locks fitted to your external doors	Yes	Yes
	(Up to £5,000)	(Up to £1m)
You need to stay in alternative accommodation while your home is being repaired during a claim	Yes	Yes
	(Up to £100,000)	(Up to £1m)
You put a hot pan on the kitchen worktop and damage the surface	Optional	Yes
	(Up to £1m)
Your flooring has to be replaced because we took it up to trace and fix a leaking water pipe	Yes	Yes
	(Up to £5,000	(Up to sum insured)
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	No	Yes
		(Up to £1m)
3-year fixed price - if nothing changes you can expect to pay the same price for 3 years, even after most claims (T&C apply).	No	Yes

What to know more? Get a quote

If you need higher cover limits (more than £100,000 for your contents or £1 million for your buildings insurance), have a look at Saga TailorMade Home Insurance.

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.

Saga Plus and Saga Select policies do not cover the following:

The cost of preparing a claim
Loss or damage caused by wear and tear or gradual deterioration
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
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
Settlement
Swelling or shrinking of infill materials
The coast or river bank being worn away
Storm or flood to timber gates, fences and hedges
Structural changes, structural repairs or demolition
Faulty workmanship, faulty design or using faulty materials
Lopping, topping or felling of trees on your property
Malicious acts or vandalism by you or any persons lawfully in your home
Malicious acts or vandalism, escape of water or theft or attempted theft when your home is unoccupied or unfurnished
Mechanical or electrical fault, failure or breakdown
Any excess stated in your policy

For full details on what is covered by Saga Plus and Saga Select buildings cover please see the policy book.

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 insurance 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, including clearing the land and architect fees.

Getting the amount you are insured for right is important as with too little buildings insurance you could be left short when it comes to needing to rebuild your home.

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 and materials for a rebuild are more consistent.

The cost to rebuild a home from standard materials will usually be less than its market value, but if you have a home that is built of non-standard materials (that is, not brick, stone or concrete), or that is listed or has special architectural features, rebuild costs may be higher.

For standard-built homes, you can use an online calculator from the Building Cost Information Service to give you an idea of the rebuild value of your house.

For most standard properties we offer buildings cover of up to £1 million, so we don't usually need to ask you for your exact rebuild cost. The times when we will ask are:

If the property was built before 1850
If the property has six or more bedrooms
If the property is a listed building (any grade)

Want to know more?

Get a quote

Our home insurance policies are provided by a number of insurers that all meet our high standards of quality and service.

Building insurance FAQs

Does buildings insurance cover leaks?

Buildings insurance from Saga covers trace and access of leaks, even when the cause is wear and tear.

You're insured against water damage caused by leaking or overflowing domestic drains, water or heating installations, kitchen appliances and fixed domestic water installations.

Saga’s buildings insurance 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 can find more details in the buildings insurance policy details.

Does buildings insurance cover roof repairs?

It depends what has caused the damage and what is in your buildings insurance policy documentation. 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, when they are a direct cause of a roof leak, to the insured amount.

You can find more details in the buildings insurance policy details.

Does buildings insurance cover subsidence?

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 insurance policies cover your property for subsidence, ground heave of the site on which the building stands, or landslip.

If your property has been subject to subsidence before, you will need to provide all the details of previous subsidence and whether issues have been fixed to the insurance provider when you are looking for buildings insurance cover. The insurance quote you get will depend on the answers to these questions, and your premium may be higher as a result of previous subsidence issues.

At Saga we will usually ask for a copy of a surveyor's or structural engineer's report to confirm previous subsidence issues have been fully repaired before we can proceed with your quote.

If your home has a history of subsidence and you'd like to see if we can insure you, please call us on 0800 015 0521

Can I get buildings insurance in a flood risk area?

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 insurance 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.

When should buildings insurance start

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, 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 doubts, ask your solicitor who will be able to advise you when your buildings insurance should start.