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If you are the proud owner of a home you must have building insurance to keep it covered in case of any harm. Your mortgage lender will also require you to have this insurance so that their money does not get trapped if your home suffers any kind of damage. Building insurance protects your home and saves you the cost of repairing in the event that your home faces any physical damage.

The structure of your home is what will be covered by building insurance. Usually building insurance and contents insurance are bundled together. Insurance companies often offer discounts if the two types are purchased together. Building insurance generally covers the cost of repairing or rebuilding your house. The structure of the building is covered. This includes permanent fittings and fixtures like wardrobes, kitchens, bathroom suites as well as toilets.

Some policies also extend the cover to outbuildings like greenhouses and garages. If it is agreed upon by the policy terms, then some companies would also cover fences, walls, paths and swimming pools. However, you may have to pay some extra money as premiums for that.

Building insurance usually covers any damage to the house caused from fire, flood, storms, earthquake and explosions. Your property will also be covered from theft and destruction, damage from falling trees, collision by vehicles, leakage of water from any pipes or tanks or even oil leakage is covered.

If you have to shift to a temporary location because your home (property) has become unliveable and needs repairing or rebuilding, your building insurance will bear the cost of such temporary shifting up to a certain level.

Building insurance does not cover every loss that you might face. Certain losses are only partially reimbursed and you (policyholder) will have to pay any excess amount that may be required. Building insurance normally excludes:

• Frost damage
• Contamination from waste or nuclear fuel
• Terrorist attacks

Terrorist attacks can, however, be covered under an additional policy.

Building insurance is meant to cover the structure of your home from damage. However, if you have to protect the contents of your home from damage, you need to buy contents insurance. If you have building insurance and no contents insurance, the contents of your home will not be covered. A very important factor while getting contents insurance is the value of the goods to be covered.

Building insurance is best for those who own a building. If you are a renter, then your landlord must have building insurance, not you. However, you must definitely have contents insurance if you want to keep your valuables covered. Your landlord's building insurance will not cover any of your property. Only the common property will be covered. When getting building insurance carefully weigh your options and get the right insurance.