Administered and underwritten by Aviva Insurance Limited. Already have a home insurance policy with us? Take a look at our insurance support pages, or see our self service section below
What is home insurance?
Home insurance is designed to protect your home and belongings.
There are 2 types of home insurance: buildings insurance and contents insurance.
- Buildings insurance could pay out to repair or rebuild your home if it’s been damaged or destroyed.
- Contents insurance could pay out to replace the cost of your damaged or lost items.
You can combine buildings and contents insurance or buy them separately.
You can also add accidental damage to your policy for an additional cost. This gives you extra cover against costs from things such as spillages or breakages.
The benefits of our home insurance
New claims online or by phone
We’ve made it quick and easy to do, 24/7. UK-based claims team.
No hidden charges
We don't charge you extra to make changes to your policy or if you want to pay monthly.
We can put a roof over your head
If your insurance covers the damage to your home, it also picks up the bill for you to stay somewhere else.
Who needs home insurance?
It will depend on your circumstances. The type of cover that may be best for you will depend on whether you’re a homeowner or renting.
Homeowners
If you own your home, you’re responsible for insuring the building and your belongings inside it.
If you have a mortgage, your lender might insist that you have buildings insurance in place for the length of your mortgage. You can buy buildings insurance from any provider, not just your lender.
If you have a second home, you may want to cover it as well.
Renters
If you’re renting, you don’t need to worry about buildings insurance, as it will be your landlord’s responsibility.
But you may want to think about contents insurance. It can help cover the costs of replacing your personal items, such as your clothes, furniture, and appliances.
Types of home insurance
Buildings and contents
Protects both your home and what’s inside it. You may decide to choose this if you’re a homeowner
Contents only
Contents only cover protects your belongings. You may decide to choose this if you rent your home
Buildings only
Protects your home (and any outbuildings) only but includes fixtures and fittings such as bathrooms and kitchens
What does contents insurance cover?
Contents insurance protects your belongings against the cost of unexpected things happening, such as:
- theft
- vandalism
- fire
- or flooding.
Many homeowners combine contents cover with their buildings insurance. This is so they can protect their personal items as well as their home.
If you rent your home, you may not need buildings insurance as it's usually your landlord's job to take care of that. But most landlords won't cover your own belongings. Because of this, you may want to take out contents insurance for peace of mind.
What does buildings insurance cover?
Buildings insurance will cover your home and any fixtures and fittings (such as your kitchen or bathroom) against the cost of damage from things like:
fire
subsidence
bad weather
other unexpected events.
Buildings insurance is normally compulsory if you have a mortgage. If you live in a flat, you may only need buildings insurance if you own the freehold. If it's leasehold, it’s likely to be the landlord’s job to insure their property, although you should check.
You can take out buildings insurance on its own, or you can also protect the contents in your home. A combined buildings and contents home insurance policy will give you cover for both.
What our home insurance covers
What’s covered
- 2 levels of cover
When it comes to the cost of rebuilding your home, there’s no limit to the amount we pay with our Plus cover. Or you can choose Classic cover which will pay up to £500,000 - Alternative accommodation or loss of rent
Buildings insurance will cover the cost of alternative accommodation or loss of rent if your home can’t be lived in because of insured damage (limits apply) - Replacement of external door locks
Contents insurance will replace external door locks if your keys are lost or stolen
What’s not covered
- Wet rot, dry rot, or frost damage
- Damage from wear and tear or that’s happened slowly over time
- Fences, gates or hedges damaged in a storm
Get a quote online in minutes or call 0800 028 0650
Classic cover versus Plus cover
We can offer you the choice between two levels of Defaqto rated cover: our Classic policy or our Plus policy. See the table below to compare the differences between the two.
Full details of our cover limits (PDF - 59 KB) are available.
| Product features | Classic | Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Buildings sum insured. This is the maximum you can claim for loss or damage to the property caused by certain events, such as a storm or flood. | Up to £500,000 | Unlimited |
| Contents sum insured. This covers loss or damage to the possessions in your home. | Up to £50,000 | Unlimited |
| Cover limit for valuables in the home. | £20,000 | £50,000 |
| Alternative accommodation or loss of rent. | Up to £25,000 | Unlimited |
| Trace and access, which deals with finding the source of a leak. | Up to £2,500 | Up to £5,000 |
| Replacement locks if your keys are lost or stolen. | Up to £250 | Unlimited |
| Accidental damage. | Optional | Optional |
| UK-based claims team to support you with every step of your claim. |  | |
| Named personal claims handler. | | |
| Contents lost, stolen or damaged beyond repair will be replaced with new ones. | | |
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. |  |  |
Policy terms and conditions, other cover limits, restrictions and exclusions apply. Please read the important information for more details and our Terms of Business.
How home insurance works
See our steps below to learn about home insurance, from how to take out a policy to making a claim.
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
0nce a claim is approved, a payout will be made.
Start your quote online today or call 0800 028 0650
Other types of insurance we offer
Landlord insurance
We're pleased to introduce you to AXA, who offer landlord insurance that you can tailor to meet your needs. AXA isn’t part of the Santander group
Car insurance
Have peace of mind when you’re on the road. This includes cover for hybrid vehicles.
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 spilling a drink on your sofa if you have contents cover. Or, if you have buildings cover, 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.
Aviva will make a ‘soft’ insurance check. Customers who ask for a copy of their credit file from Aviva’s credit reference agency (CRA) will see these footprints under their search history. The CRA which Aviva use for quotation searches is TransUnion and for affordability searches is Experian. Customers won’t see these footprints if they ask for their file from another CRA such as Experian or Equifax.
Aviva uses data from their credit reference agency to verify your identity, prevent fraud and carry out risk profiling. This lets Aviva calculate your premium and payment options.
