Our buildings and contents insurance calculator estimates the combined annual premium for insuring both the structure of your home and all your household possessions. Getting both covers right — with adequate sum insured levels — is essential to being properly protected when you need to claim.
Buildings & Contents Insurance Calculator
Estimate the right level of buildings and contents cover for your home and see your combined premium range (2025 UK rates).
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Buildings Insurance: Getting the Sum Insured Right
Buildings insurance should cover the full rebuild cost of your property — not the market value. Rebuild costs vary by property age, construction type, and location but are typically 30–70% of market value for standard homes. The Building Cost Information Service (BCIS) provides a free online calculator to estimate the rebuild cost. Underinsuring the rebuild value can result in claims being proportionally reduced — a serious risk that many homeowners unknowingly take.
Contents Insurance: How to Value Your Possessions
Use new-for-old replacement values, not second-hand prices. Clothing alone typically adds up to £3,000–£8,000 at replacement cost. Electronics, appliances, furniture, jewellery, and hobby equipment can easily total £30,000–£50,000 for an average three-bedroom household. High-value items above the single-article limit should be individually listed. Use our Contents Insurance Calculator to check your contents sum insured specifically, and our Home Insurance Calculator for buildings-only premium estimates.
Frequently Asked Questions
The average combined buildings and contents premium is approximately £320–£380 per year for a semi-detached three-bedroom house. Premiums vary significantly by location, rebuild value, claims history, and excess chosen.
Escape of water (burst pipes, leaking appliances) is the most common home insurance claim in the UK by value. Excess levels on escape of water claims are often higher than for other perils — check your policy carefully.
Most standard policies include subsidence cover, but claims are complex and expensive. Properties in clay soil areas (common in London) are higher risk. If subsidence is excluded or restricted, this is a serious gap.
Yes — increase your voluntary excess, improve home security, and compare the market at renewal. The FCA banned price-walking in 2022 — but comparison shopping remains the most reliable way to find the best rate.
Usually yes — most insurers offer a discount of 5–15% for combined policies. However, comparing the best standalone buildings and contents policies is sometimes cheaper than the best combined policy.
Enter rebuild cost for buildings and total replacement value for contents. Buying buildings and contents from the same insurer typically attracts a combined discount of 5-15% and simplifies claims involving both (for example, a burst pipe damaging both the structure and furnishings). The rebuild cost is the structural replacement value rather than the market price — find this in your original mortgage survey, valuation report, or by using the BCIS House Rebuilding Cost calculator. Underinsurance is a genuine risk: if your sum insured is 80% of the true rebuild cost and you make a claim, insurers can apply the average clause, paying only 80% of the claim value. Review both sum insured figures each year and adjust for construction cost inflation.
Important Information
This calculator is provided for general information and planning purposes only. It does not constitute financial or tax advice and should not be relied upon as such. Figures are indicative estimates based on simplified, publicly available criteria and stated assumptions. Actual results depend on your full circumstances. See our Disclaimer for further information.