You will require specialist landlords insurance to cover the buildings and your liability as the property owner. Additional covers may be available such as loss of rental income resulting from an insured peril.

Home emergency cover provides you with access to tradespersons who can carry out temporary or permanent repairs in the event of a home emergency such as leaking pipes, complete electrical failure, damage to windows or doors which pose a security risk to your home and infestations of vermin. Some insurers will include cover for the call out charge, labour and parts/materials up to a set limit, whilst others will arrange for the emergency tradesperson to visit but any costs incurred will be borne by you, the policyholder.

If you are having work carried out on your property you must have an agreement in place with the contractor or project manager/architect as to who will provide insurance cover whilst the work is being undertaken. Ideally this agreement should be in place prior to work commencing.

If the contractor is not able to provide cover it may be possible to arrange this with your home insurer depending on what type of work is being carried out. However, they may wish to impose additional terms or exclusions to the cover while work is being carried out.

It is important that you make your insurers aware of any work that is being carried out, or that you plan to carry out on your property regardless of whether you require them to provide you with additional cover.

If neither your contractor nor your existing insurer can provide cover for the property we do have access to specialist insurers who will arrange a policy for the duration of the works, special terms may apply. Please contact us on 01224 848222 if you require a quote for this type of cover or if you have an existing policy with us and are about to undertake work on the property.

We may be able to provide cover for non UK residents for properties in the UK subject to circumstances. Please contact us on 01224 848222 if you require a quote.

Cover for a property that has previously been affected by flooding or subsidence is likely to be provided by specialist insurers rather than in the general market. Insurance is particularly important if there is a mortgage lender to consider as they will want to ensure that your home is adequately covered.

Before any new insurer would be prepared to offer terms, they will want to know when the damage last occurred and any previous history, the repairs that were undertaken and the cost if known, and any preventative measures that have since been put in place either by yourself, the previous owner or local authority.

It is likely that there will be a higher policy excess applied to that section of the policy both on the buildings and contents sections.

The total sum insured for the building should include your home, the garage, sheds, greenhouses, swimming pools, ponds and fountains, patios, paths, drives, fences and hedges, underground cables and pipes, sewage tank, the fixtures and fittings, such as solar panels and satellite dishes, and the decoration, wallpaper, paint etc.

If you have recently purchased your home the Home Buyers Report should include a surveyor's recommendation on the sum required for insurance purposes. This can appear under the heading of insurance, rebuild or reinstatement values.

If you have owned your property for a number of years, general guidance on the rebuild cost can be found at www.abi.bcis.co.uk. This guidance has been prepared by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors on behalf of the Association of British Insurers (the ABI). By entering basic details about your property using the Rebuilding Cost Calculater you will be given an estimate of the current rebuild cost for your home. Please be aware that this is designed to give you a good indication of the rebuilding cost of your home. If you are in any doubt then you should approach a surveyor to provide you with a rebuild valuation specific to your property.

If your home is a listed property, or of unusual or non standard design or construction we would recommend that you always instruct a surveyor to undertake a survey and provide you with the current rebuild figure.

If you are looking for cover for items you would normally wear or carry outside the home, for example sports or photographic equipment then you would require personal possessions cover. You may also be required to specify any individual item exceeding the single article limit set by your insurer, regardless of whether the item in question is taken outside of the home. We will advise you on whether a specific item needs to be specified and whether a valuation is required.

The single item limit for 'valuables' varies between insurers but ordinarily items valued at under £1,500 do not be need to be specified. Certain items must always be specified regardless of their value, this might include hearing aids, laptop computers, tablets or similar devices and pedal cycles. If in doubt provide details of the items for which you require protection and our advisor will be able to recommend the most appropriate cover for you.

Items kept in the garage or garden sheds will be covered under the Contents section of your policy provided you have included their value in the total sum insured declared. Limits may apply to the amount that can be claimed for theft of items taken from outbuildings and additional charges may be made for certain items such as ride on mowers. Cover for motor vehicles and motorcycles is excluded. Please declare your requirements for cover kept in outbuildings at the time of quotation to ensure that the policy provided meets with your requirements.