Home Insurance Renewal Checklist: What to Check Before It Renews

Home insurance usually renews automatically, and the renewal notice arrives a few weeks before the date. Use that window to check four things: the price, the sums insured, what has changed at home since last year, and the conditions of the policy.

1. The price

The renewal notice states the price for the year ahead and must show last year's price beside it. If the difference is large and nothing about your home has changed, ask the insurer why, and get other quotes while there is time to read them.

2. The sums insured

• Buildings: is the rebuild cost still right? Extensions, loft conversions and new kitchens raise it.
• Contents: would the figure replace everything new today? New furniture, electronics and jewellery add up over a year.
• Single items above the policy's limit: are they listed?

3. What has changed at home

• Building work, finished or planned.
• Somebody working from home, or running a business from it.
• A lodger or a paying guest.
• The home being let, or left empty for a long period.
• A change to locks, alarms or other security.
• A claim or an incident in the year, whether or not you claimed.

Tell the insurer about any of these. Cover can depend on it.

4. The conditions people miss

• Unoccupancy. Most policies restrict cover when the home is empty for a continuous period, which the policy states. A long trip or a gap between tenants can reach it.
• Security. Some policies require particular locks to be fitted and used.
• Maintenance. Damage that happens gradually, such as a slow leak or wear to a roof, is normally excluded.
• Excesses. There may be a higher excess for certain events, such as escape of water or subsidence.

5. Decide and confirm

If you stay, check that the renewal has gone through at the price quoted. If you switch, make sure the new policy starts when the old one ends, and tell the old insurer you are not renewing. If there is a mortgage, the lender may need to know the new insurer.

Add your home insurance to Wisemium and it keeps the insurer, the premium and the renewal date on record and shows the date as needing attention as the renewal comes close. When you want quotes, it hands you to an FCA authorised comparison partner. Wisemium does not compare, recommend or arrange insurance itself.