Common enquiries
Cover
How much are my buildings insured for?
How much should I insure my contents for?
Can I cover my possessions away from the home?
Do I pay an excess if I make a claim?
What is HomeRescue Plus cover?
What is legal expenses cover?
Will my son/daughter's possessions be covered if they are away at university?
Why do I need contents insurance?
What are High Risk Items?
What should I do if I have any High Risk Items or personal belongings over £2,000?
Does the contents cover include accidental damage?
Are pedal cycles covered? If so, up to what value?
Payments and Discounts
How can I pay?
What are your short period rates?
Do I get any No Claim Discount (NCD)?
Can I protect my No Claim Discount (NCD)?
Other Information
What are my cancellations rights?
How can I make a change to my policy?
How do I make a claim?
Cover
How much are my buildings insured for?
We cover you automatically for the repair or rebuilding costs (including architects and removal of debris from the site) of the buildings of your home, up to £500,000.
How much should I insure my contents for?
You should make sure that your sum insured is sufficient to replace all the contents as new at current prices, with no allowance for depreciation and wear and tear, except for clothing and household linen. We will suggest a minimum sum insured based on the details you provide but if the figure we suggest is not sufficient you should choose a higher sum insured. For further details see our guide to calculating sums insured.
Can I cover my possessions away from the home?
Yes, you can protect personal items, valuables and clothing normally worn or carried outside the home, including money, credit cards, mobile phones, pedal cycles and sports equipment under our Personal Possessions insurance.
Do I pay an excess if I make a claim?
You can choose an excess of £50, £100, £150 or £300 which will apply to claims under the buildings and contents sections. A £1,000 excess will apply to any claim for subsidence, heave of the site or landslip under the buildings insurance option. An excess of £50 will apply for loss of or damage to property under all other sections.
What is HomeRescue Plus cover?
Available at an incredibly low price of just 12p for the first year – HomeRescue Plus offers a range of additional cover and services.
HomeRescue Plus is available to buildings and/or contents insurance policyholders and provides cover of up to £250 for certain emergency repairs to the home.
For more details on cover, exclusions and conditions have a look at page 27 of the policy document.
What is legal expenses cover?
Managed for The Co-operative Insurance by The Co-operative Legal Services Limited, this Legal Expenses cover offers up to £50,000 against legal costs incurred for a variety of civil disputes.
This cover is automatically included in your Home Insurance policy unless you only choose the travel option, where personal injury legal expenses cover is already included.
Legal Advice Helpline
At some time or other we all need advice or guidance, and that's why our Home insurance includes a confidential personal legal advice helpline. Managed on our behalf by The Co-operative Legal Services Limited, this professional advice team is on hand to give you confidential advice on any personal legal problem, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Will my son/daughter's possessions be covered if they are away at university?
Yes, up to £5,000 under the ‘Contents away from the Home' subsection of the contents insurance option, provided that the family member in question regards your home as their permanent home and it is intended to return the contents they wish to cover to the home in future. Please note the policy will not extend to cover their liability as tenant and occupier of their temporary residence. For details of the relevant cover, exclusions and conditions please refer to the policy document.
Why do I need contents insurance?
Contents insurance is not a legal requirement, and unlike buildings it's not something your mortgage lender can insist upon.
However the financial investment you have made in the contents of your home is likely to be considerable, so it shouldn't be overlooked.
What are High Risk Items?
These are televisions, audio and video equipment, DVD equipment, digital receivers and recorders, computers (including components and accessories) other than office equipment used for business purposes, photographic equipment, jewellery, watches, articles of gold, silver and other precious metal, furs, curios, stamp or coin or medal collections, pictures and other works of art.
What should I do if I have any High Risk Items or personal belongings over £2,000?
You can arrange specific cover for high risk items or personal belongings worth over £2,000. You can add these items to your policy by calling 08457 46 46 46*, lines are open from 8am-8pm Monday to Friday, and from 8am-5pm on Saturday.
Does the contents cover include accidental damage?
We automatically provide cover for accidental damage and breakage to specific items in your home e.g. damage to TV's, DVD, audio and video equipment, computer equipment, and breakage of glass, mirrors and ceramic in hobs.
Full accidental damage cover is available for an additional cost to cover most of your contents.
Are pedal cycles covered? If so, up to what value?
Yes, our contents insurance will give you basic cover. If you'd like cover away from home you should add ‘unspecified personal possessions' to your policy. There is a limit of £1,000 per cycle.
If your pedal cycle is worth more than £1,000 you'll need to tell us about it so that it can be covered as a ‘specified personal possession'.
Payments and Discounts
How can I pay?
Payment can be made by debit or credit card or by Direct Debit. We accept all Amex, Mastercard and Visa credit cards, Solo, Switch and Visa Delta debit cards.
If you choose to pay by Direct Debit we will collect a deposit by card payment, then 10 equal monthly payments by Direct Debit.
What are your short period rates?
The percentage of annual premium payable for the period of cover provided (in months) is shown below.
| Month | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % of annual premium payable | 10% | 20% | 30% | 40% | 50% | 60% | 65% | 75% | 85% | 90% | 95% | 100% |
Do I get any No Claim Discount (NCD)?
Yes, we offer up to 40% NCD on both the buildings and contents covers depending on claims history. The discounts work independently of each other which means that if you have a contents claim then the buildings NCD is unaffected.
Can I protect my No Claim Discount (NCD)?
Yes, optional NCD protection is available once the full entitlement of 40% has been earned.
Other Information
What are my cancellations rights?
When you receive your policy documents you will have 14 days in which to cancel the policy if you no longer require the insurance. If you wish to cancel the policy please contact us on 08457 46 46 46*, lines are open from 8am-8pm Monday to Friday, and from 8am-5pm on Saturday, or write to Home Insurance, Customer Processing Services, The Co-operative Insurance, Miller Street, Manchester M60 0AL.
If you cancel the policy within 14 days of receipt of the policy document the premium you have paid will be returned to you less a pro-rata charge for any time on cover.
To be entitled to a pro-rata refund of the premium paid, you must telephone us or write to us on or before the 14th day of receipt of the policy document and the cancellation effective date requested must be within this period.
If you cancel your policy after this time any refund of premium will normally be the premium paid less premium at our short period rates for the period the policy has been in force. Please note that a refund is not normally allowed if you cancel the Travel section.
Details of our short period rates can be found under the Payments and Discounts section.
How can I make a change to my policy?
If you need to make a change to your policy contact us on 08457 46 46 46* (minicom 08000 684 244) , lines are open from 8am-8pm Monday to Friday, and from 8am-5pm on Saturday.
How do I make a claim?
If you need to make a claim contact The Co-operative Insurance claims helpline on 0845 999 8888*. Lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
To make a claim on our Legal Expenses or Legal Expenses – Personal Injury subsection of the Travel section you should ring The Co-operative Legal Services Limited on 0845 300 2247*. Lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
*Calls to 0845 numbers will cost no more than 4p per minute for BT customers. Call charges from other companies may vary and you may want to check this with your service provider.
Calls will be recorded for security purposes and may be monitored to maintain service quality.
