Home insurance
Category: Reference entry · Reviewed by the Apex broking team · Last reviewed 2026-08-22 · ~4 min read
Category: Reference entry
Also known as: household insurance, buildings and contents insurance, domestic property insurance
Related concepts: buildings insurance, contents insurance, property insurance
What household cover is
A home policy is a standardised package. The buildings section covers the structure of the dwelling, its permanent fixtures and normally garages, outbuildings, walls, gates and drives, on a reinstatement basis. The contents section covers the possessions inside, usually new for old, with inner limits for valuables and often optional extensions for accidental damage and for personal possessions away from the home. Legal expenses, home emergency and family legal protection are commonly bundled or offered as add-ons.
The underlying mechanics are the same as in commercial property cover — perils or all risks, sums insured, average, single article limits, excesses — which is why the commercial entries on buildings insurance and contents insurance are the right place to read about how they work. The difference is that household products are standardised and rated on simple proxies, while commercial property risks are individually underwritten and the wording differences between insurers are material.
Where household cover stops
The practical value of this entry is the boundary. A standard home policy is written for a private dwelling occupied by the policyholder, and its exclusions and conditions assume that. Business use of the home is the most common breach point: a home policy may allow clerical work but not business stock, business equipment above a small limit, clients or couriers visiting, or a trade carried on from the property. Working from home for an employer is usually acceptable; running a business from home usually needs to be declared and often needs separate cover.
The other frequent boundary issues are unoccupancy beyond the period the policy allows, letting the property out in whole or in part, holiday letting and short-term letting, properties undergoing significant renovation, and non-standard construction. Each takes the risk outside the assumptions the household product was priced on. Where a property is let to tenants, the correct product is a landlord or property owners policy rather than a home policy, and where a residential block is held as an investment the cover sits firmly on the commercial side.
Flood, and what the commercial market does not have
One structural feature of the household market has no commercial equivalent. Flood Re is a reinsurance scheme that allows household insurers to cede the flood element of eligible home policies, making cover available to homes at high flood risk. It applies to household risks only. Commercial property in a flood zone has no equivalent backstop and must be placed on its merits, which is why flood exposure is a much harder problem on the commercial side than most buyers expect.
Where to go next
If you are looking for household cover, a personal lines broker or a comparison service is the right route; we do not place it. If you own commercial property, let residential or mixed-use property, run a business from a domestic address, or hold property as an investment, the relevant entries are property insurance, buildings insurance and contents insurance, and the exposure worth checking first is whether the sums insured are still the right numbers.
Frequently asked questions
Does Apex arrange home insurance?
No. Apex is a commercial insurance broker and does not place household business. This entry exists to explain the term and to point readers to the commercial property entries that cover the same underlying mechanics.
What is the difference between home insurance and commercial property insurance?
The mechanics are similar, but home policies are standardised packages written for a private dwelling occupied by the policyholder, while commercial property cover is individually underwritten and the wording, sums insured and conditions vary materially between insurers.
Can I run a business from home on my home insurance?
Often only in a limited way. Many home policies permit clerical work but exclude business stock, equipment above a small limit, visiting clients and trading from the premises. Anything beyond incidental office work should be declared, and usually needs separate business cover.
Does home insurance cover a property I let out?
No. Letting a property, whether on a long tenancy or as a short-term or holiday let, takes it outside a standard home policy. The correct product is a landlord or property owners policy, which is placed in the commercial market.
Related entries
This entry is part of the Apex Insurance Wiki. It states the position as at August 2026. Last reviewed 2026-08-22. Next review: 2027-02-22. It is general insurance information, not legal advice, and not regulated advice on a specific policy.
Apex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 724952). This page is general information, not advice on a specific policy.