One of the things I get asked most often is: what is the difference between the different types of insurance?

It’s easy to understand why, as there are so many different products on the market, it can be hard to see which you need and which you don’t.

So over five posts, I’ll be sharing my (hopefully) easy to understand guide on the different types of insurance and why you should or shouldn’t take them out.

Home and contents

Let’s start with perhaps the most obvious and straightforward, insurance for the roof over your head and your property!

As the name suggests, home and contents or building and contents insurance, looks after the building and your possessions.

You can buy them as individual policies – buildings insurance and contents insurance, or as a combined policy.

The buildings insurance covers the cost of rebuilding your home if it is damaged in a storm, flood or fire or by lightning, vandalism, falling trees, motor vehicles etc. Cover can differ and it is worth checking what you are and aren’t covered for.

Contents insurance covers you for damage or theft to possessions in your home, garage or shed.

The key thing with this – and all other insurance – is to ensure you are not under-insured. If you don’t insure yourself against the full value of rebuilding your home or the full value of your possessions, your insurer might invalidate your claim and refuse to pay out or only pay a percentage of what you thought you were going to get.