What would home insurance be in London?

Home insurance in the UK? how does it work?

• I am a tenant in an appartment in London with my boyfriend. I'd like to know if I need to get a home insurance for this appartment and what king of insurance (building or content???). I mean, if there is a fire, a window broken or a inundation problem, do we have to pay for it or is it the landlord? Idem in case of burglary? Finally where are the best place to get it? I tried to get some quote from diverse companies (HSBC, Tesco Insurance...) but the price was crazy: around £250 per year. Is that always that expensive in the UK? (I used to live in Paris and it was less that £40 a year for a complete cover insurance). Many thanks

• Answer:

  You will require home contents insurance as you do not own your building and therefore have no insurable interest in it. Typically this comes with liability as an occupier and personal liability towards others for members of your household, money and cover for certain possession outside the home. The cover can be "standard" fire flood, water damage, vandalism theft / burglary etc and then "Accidental Damage cover. Many policies include this accidental damage on certain items such as TVs computes etc in the standard package. In addition you will have some form of cover for alternative accommodation should your home become unoccupiable due to insured peril. The premium is calculate by applying a rate to the sum insured. Eg £30,000 contents are charged at £x premium per £1000 contents. This rate is based on the postcode of the flat. Central London is expensive. I hope this assists. xxR