WHILE you may have already gone through the process of finding the perfect home, securing a mortgage, and moving in, there is one more important aspect to consider: insurance.
As a new homeowner, it’s essential to protect your investment by having the right insurance policies in place.
In this blog post, we’ll discuss the insurance policies you need to consider once you’ve bought your first home. From home insurance to making sure your family is protected if you passed away.
1 – Home insurance
The first policy you need to think about is Home Insurance. This is a MUST-HAVE for any homeowners. This type of insurance comes in two forms: buildings insurance and contents insurance. Buildings insurance covers the cost of repairing or rebuilding your home if it is damaged or destroyed by events such as fire, flood, or storm. Contents insurance covers the cost of replacing your possessions if they are stolen or damaged.
When choosing home insurance, it’s important to consider the level of cover you need. You should think about the value of your home and possessions and make sure your policy covers the full cost of rebuilding your home and replacing your belongings. It’s also important to consider any additional cover you might need. For example, you may want to add accidental damage to your policy.
2 – Life insurance, including critical illness cover
Life insurance is another important insurance policy to consider once you’ve bought your first home. This type of insurance pays out a lump sum of money to your loved ones in the event of your death. The money can be used to help cover things like funeral expenses, outstanding debts, and living expenses.
When taking out life insurance, you may also hear about critical illness cover. Critical illness insurance again, provides a lump sum payment if you are diagnosed with a specified illness such as cancer, heart attack, stroke, or kidney failure. This type of insurance can help cover the costs associated with your illness such as medical expenses, time off work, and additional living expenses.
It’s important to choose a policy that fits your needs and budget. You should consider factors such as your age, health, and lifestyle when selecting a policy. It is also important to review the policy regularly to ensure that it still meets your needs.
3- Income protection
An Income Protection policy does exactly what it sounds like, it protects your pay packet. If you’re ever off work due to illness or injury for a prolonged period of time, this policy is designed to replace your income until you have returned to work, moved to new employment, or until the payment period comes to an end.
They payout after what’s called a ‘Deferred Period’ – this is the amount of time you need to be off work before you can claim on the policy and typically it can be from anything from 1 month up to 12 months.
An Income Protection policy is also a percentage of your annual salary and is there to make sure you can still upkeep your lifestyle and pay any essential bills.
4 – Family Income Benefit Policy
Family income benefit is another insurance policy to consider when buying a house. This policy is designed to pay a regular income if you die or contract a critical illness, depending on how you set it up. An alternative to level term insurance, family income benefit aims to replace lost income if the person insured dies and as the name suggests, it’s usually there to support families with children. If you’re the main income earner for the family and sadly pass away, it means your partner can continue to provide for the family without having to take on an additional workload.
To summarise, buying a home is a major investment, you want need to make sure your protecting it, yourself and your loved ones if something was to ever happen.
By having the proper protection in place, you can have peace of mind knowing that you’re prepared for any unexpected events that may arise.
Remember to review your policies regularly to ensure they continue to meet your needs, and don’t hesitate to speak with your insurance agent if you have any questions or concerns. By taking these steps, you can enjoy your new home with the confidence of knowing you’re well-protected.
To discuss insuring yourself and your home, contact us today on 01925 573 328 or fill out one of our contact forms and a member of the team will be in touch.
