Administered and underwritten by Aviva Insurance Limited.
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What is buildings insurance?
Buildings insurance can cover the cost of repairing or rebuilding your home. For example, if your home gets damaged due to fire, flooding, theft or other unexpected events.
It’ll cover the structure of the building, including walls, roof and floors, as well as permanent fittings such as bathrooms, kitchen and built-in wardrobes. Domestic garages, sheds and outbuildings are also covered.
You can take out buildings insurance on its own, or you can combine it with our contents insurance to protect both your home and what’s inside.
See our home insurance page to find out more.
How does it work?
When you take out a policy, you’ll pay a premium that can be paid either monthly or annually to suit you.
If something goes wrong and you need to make a claim, you’ll need to complete a claims form which can be done online or over the phone. When you make a claim, you’ll need to pay an excess.
To find out what’s covered and what’s not, check your policy documents.
What’s covered as standard by buildings insurance?
Buildings cover
Covers the cost of repairing or rebuilding your home if it gets damaged by an unexpected event.
Alternative accommodation or loss of rent
Covers the cost of finding you or your tenants somewhere to live if the property can’t be lived in.
Tracing and accessing leaks
Covers the cost to remove any part of the internal structure of the home to find the leak and make good when fixed.
Replacement of external door locks
We’ll replace your external door locks of your home if your keys are lost or stolen.
Policy terms and conditions, other cover limits, restrictions and exclusions may apply.
What isn’t covered?
We don’t cover the things listed below:
- Damage due to general wear and tear, or lack of maintenance.
- Damage caused by faulty or unsuitable materials, design or poor workmanship.
- Fences, gates or hedges damaged in a storm.
- A claim because of a deliberate, malicious or unlawful act by you or your family.
Please check the policy document for more details.
Why do I need buildings insurance?
If you have a mortgage on your home, your lender may insist that you take out a buildings insurance policy. You don’t have to take out insurance with the same provider.
If you own your home outright, then buildings insurance is still important. If the worst was to happen, could you afford to rebuild your home without it?
For renters, you don’t need to worry about it, as it’s your landlord’s responsibility to get buildings insurance.
How much cover do I need?
It’s important that you have enough cover in place if you ever need to make a claim.
To get the right level of buildings insurance cover, you need to know how much it would cost to rebuild your home. This is called the rebuild cost.
- The rebuild cost is how much it’d be to completely rebuild your home from scratch.
- It includes costs of clearing the site, materials, labour and any professional fees.
- The rebuild cost is different from the market value, which is how much someone might pay to buy your property. It’s likely to be higher than the rebuild cost.
The higher the rebuild cost of your home, the more you’ll have to pay for cover. If you undervalue your rebuild cost and then need to make a claim, you could end up with unexpected expenses.
Not sure what your rebuild cost is? Use the Association of British Insurers (ABI) online calculator
Choose the cover you need
No two homes are the same, which is why we offer two levels of cover to suit your needs: Classic and Plus. See our table below to compare the benefits of both.
In the event of a claim your policy covers you up to the buildings sum insured below. More specific limits apply which are also shown below and are included in your overall buildings sum insured unless indicated below.
| Cover | Classic | Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Buildings sum insured | £500,000 | Unlimited |
| Emergency access | £500,000 | Unlimited |
| Tracing and accessing leaks | £2,500 | £5,000 |
| Replacement locks if your keys are lost or stolen | £250 | Unlimited |
| Your liability to the public^ | £5,000,000 | £5,000,000 |
| Matching items | Not covered | Unlimited |
| Loss of rent and the cost of alternative accommodation | £25,000 | Unlimited |
| Accidental damage | Optional | Optional |
| UK based claims team to support you with every step of your buildings claim |  | |
Defaqto rating What is Defaqto? Defaqto is an independent financial information business. Their Star Rating reflects the level of features and benefits offered within a financial product. The more comprehensive the level of features and benefits offered by a product, the higher the Defaqto Star Rating it’s given. |  |  |
^ These limits are not included within the overall buildings sum insured
Policy terms and conditions, other cover limits, restrictions and exclusions apply. Please see the important information and policy documents section below. You can also read our Terms of Business.
We’ve made it easy to get a buildings insurance quote
You can get a quote online in minutes
Or you can call us on 0800 028 0650
Your step-by-step guide
1. Take out a policy
You can get a quote online in minutes or by calling 0800 028 0650.
2. Decide how you want to pay
You can choose to pay annually or spread the cost and pay monthly at no extra cost.
3. Make a claim
You can register your claim online or speak to our UK-based claims team on 0345 301 0661. You’ll need your insurance policy to hand.
4. Pay out
Once a claim is approved, a payout will be made.
Additional cover
Tailor your policy to suit your needs with additional cover available for an extra cost.
Personal belongings
A wider level of cover for your belongings and personal money, in and away from the home, anywhere in the world.
Pedal cycles
Covers you for loss or damage to your pedal cycles (including electrically assisted ones) anywhere in the world. Up to £5,000 per pedal cycle.
Accidental damage
Additional cover for sudden and unexpected damage like putting your foot through a ceiling when carrying out DIY.
Legal services
This could provide a lawyer and up to £50,000 in legal costs to pursue or defend disputes in court.
Home emergency cover
Provides a tradesperson to attend in an emergency relating to loss of an essential service to the home. Up to £1,000 per claim to cover parts, labour and VAT.
Please read the important information and documents section below for more details.
2% cashback
Earn 2% cashback on Santander Home Insurance premiums, (administered and underwritten by Aviva Insurance Limited) when you pay by Direct Debit from your 1|2|3, Select or 1|2|3 Lite Current Account . While you can't open these accounts anymore, you can still earn cashback.
The amount of cashback you can earn is capped at £5 per month in each of the 1%, 2% and 3% cashback categories.
Important information
Santander Home Insurance is subject to terms and conditions, restrictions and exclusions. Examples include:
- Damage that happens gradually, faulty materials or workmanship and breakdown or faults.
- Damage caused by chewing, scratching, tearing or fouling by domestic pets.
- Gates and fences are excluded from storm damage claims.
Additional excesses and individual limits apply to certain areas of cover which will be shown in your policy schedule.
Aviva reserves the right to refuse cover.
You’ll find further details in the documents below along with our Terms of Business. To view, you may need to download Adobe Reader
Key documents
If you would like to speak to us, you can call 0800 028 0650. Lines are open Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm and Saturday 9am to 4pm.
This is the first part of each claim that you must pay. The amount of excess you choose will reflect the premium you pay. The higher the excess, the less you’ll pay each month or annually. You can decide how much excess you’d like to pay. You can find all the information in your policy schedule.
This means that the total amount we can pay out for a claim is unlimited, unless stated otherwise. For example, in the event of a fire or flood, there would be no cap on the amount we’d pay for a claim. For some claims, such as tracing a leak, a maximum amount of cover would be applied.