In a typical policy, buildings insurance covers the actual bricks and mortar side of the home, rather than what you put inside. It will be based on the cost of rebuilding and should normally cover hazards such as fire, flooding and water damage. Permanent fixtures and fittings – generally things that you would not take with you if you were moving house, such as the bathroom suite and fitted kitchen would also come under the umbrella of buildings insurance.

It's important to read the small print very carefully regarding what actual cover is offered or excluded. Check for things to do with vandalism or malicious acts are not always covered, nor is terrorism, so do check. If you have a mortgage on your home, then buildings insurance will be one of the conditions of the loan.

Contents Insurance should cover all the things which you put into the house, such as your furniture, curtains, carpets, kitchen gadgets and cooking equipment and items in your garden. Freezer cover is usually covered too. Contents should be covered for theft, or damage from fire or flooding. Whilst your computer should be covered, you need to check the situation if you use a laptop away from home, although often cover for this and things like a camera or camcorder will be included. There is often a top value on the amount the can claim per item and the insurers will ask you to list and estimate the value of these things. Accidental damage is not necessarily included in all household cover, so check it out.

Calculating the Cost of your Insurance, whether for buildings or contents insurance, normally starts with your postcode. The insurers can make a lot of decisions based on this. They will know what the level of claims is in your area and whether you're likely to be subject to subsidence or flooding.

Unfortunately, if you live in an area which is prone to flooding, the chances are that your insurance costs will be higher. Some insurers appreciate the fact that there are homeowners who take steps to install equipment to protect them from flooding by offering a discount on their insurance.

Your history of claims will be taken into account when working out what premium you'll have to pay and obviously if you have a high level of claims, you're likely to suffer higher costs. If you're likely to be away for long periods, it may cost more for cover too.

There are some ways to Cut the Cost of household insurance, such as increasing the amount of the claim you're willing to stand yourself. Insurers are always interested in what types of locks are fitted and whether these could be ungraded. Window locks, burglar and smoke alarms are all the sort of things which could put you in a lower risk band for insurers and cheapen your costs. There could be a discount for taking out dual cover and contents policy, but it's worth checking out the cost of separate cover too.

When you're ready to Buy the Cover, it'll be well worth comparing quotes. The easiest way to do this is on-line. An independent broker will have no trouble in comparing a very wide range of insurers and will come up with the best choices for you, at the very best price. Sometimes the really good discounts are for new customers and the price can drift upwards after the first year or two, so always as your broker to check for the right price.

Making a Claim – always let your insurer know as soon as possible when you need to make a claim. If the claim is the result of a burglary they'll need to know the police incident number so make sure you have this to hand.

Read through the small print and make sure you're covered for the scope of your claim and always report losses accurately and as comprehensively and accurately as possible.

It's well worth sorting out your household insurance requirements and making sure you're up to date on everything. Then relax and forget about it.