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Frequently asked questions

Please read our FAQ section to find answers to the most common home insurance related questions.

Your questions

Our answers

What is the difference between my buildings and my contents?

As an approximate guide, if you were to turn your home upside down, everything that fell out would be your contents, and most of what remains would be buildings. For further information relating to the items covered under our building/contents cover please refer to our policy wording.

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How much should I insure my home for?

Contents
You need to consider all of the possessions within your home and how much it would cost to replace them new today, except for clothing and linen where you should deduct an amount for wear and tear.

Buildings
For most homes we are able to use our rebuilding cost calculator to estimate the rebuilding cost – if we are able to do this we'll cover you for the full cost of rebuilding (up to £500,000). If we are unable to use our calculator (eg if your home isn't built of traditional materials) the sum insured you choose must be enough to cover the cost of rebuilding your home. You should also add on an extra amount to cover demolition costs, architects and surveyor's fees.

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What does new for old mean?

New for old means, that we will replace the item(s) you are claiming for with one(s) of the same make and specification. Claims in respect of clothing and household linen will be subject to deductions for wear and tear.

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Do I need to specify my computer?

No, your computer is automatically covered under our standard contents cover. The standard cover also includes accidental damage occurring in the home to computers, unless it's a portable type like a laptop or palmtop. In this case you will need to take Personal Belongings cover if you want it to be covered for accidental damage.

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What is a valuable?

When we refer to 'valuables' we mean:

  • Coin, stamp, medal collections
  • Pictures and other works of art
  • Items of gold, silver and other precious metals
  • Jewellery and furs
  • Antiques (not including furniture), collectables and watches

Valuables are included in our standard cover up to the value of £10,000. The single article limit for valuables is £2,500; any single item over this value needs to be specified. Please call 0800 404 6356 if you need to increase the standard valuables limit or need to specify any items.

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Do I have any cover away from home?

We can protect your possessions away from home under our personal belongings cover, this covers items that you take outside of your home on a daily basis such as:

  • Jewellery
  • Money
  • Credit cards
  • Luggage
  • Clothing
  • Sports and musical equipment
  • Photographic equipment.

We will cover your possessions worldwide up to the maximum value you choose from between £2,500 - £10,000. Individual items are covered up to £2,500.

Please call 0800 404 7507 if you need cover for any single items worth more than £2,500.

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Do you cover accidental damage?

We will automatically provide a basic level of accidental cover for both your buildings and contents insurance.

Buildings Insurance
Our standard cover includes accidental damage to underground pipes and cables, fixed glass, and sanitary fixtures and fittings (eg baths, shower trays, sinks etc). By choosing our extra accidental damage for buildings option you can extend this cover to include accidental damage to the rest of your buildings e.g putting your foot through the ceiling, hitting a nail into a water pipe.

Contents Insurance
Our standard cover includes accidental damage to your radios, television sets (including digital set top boxes and satellite receivers) and computers, games, recording and audio equipment, mirrors and fixed glass. You can however increase this cover by taking out extra accidental damage cover.

This extends the basic accidental damage to include cover for most contents and soft furnishings, like curtains and sofas for breakage and spillage eg. if you spill a glass of red wine on your carpet you will be covered.

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Why do I need Legal Expenses cover on my Home Insurance?

Legal Expenses cover is not compulsory, but we recommend that you choose to add the cover to your policy as it's an inexpensive way of giving yourself that extra protection. The monthly premium of £1.50 per month provides legal cover up to £50,000 per claim for you and your family to fund the costs of pursuing legal action.

For example:
If you were unfortunate enough to be involved in a Road Traffic Accident which was not your fault and you suffered injuries, Legal Expenses will provide you with up to £50,000 of legal cover to pursue legal action. This will remove the need to search for a Solicitor or enter into a "No Win No Fee" arrangement as you will already have cover in place to provide the legal representation you need. The damages recovered will not be subject to any deductions and you will not be liable for any legal costs or fees.

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Do I pay an excess if I make a claim?

Yes, our excess on a standard claim is £100 (claims for subsidence carry a £1,000 excess).

There is no excess under the Legal Expenses section.

There is no excess under Home Emergency Cover section.

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Do I get a discount for not making a claim?

Yes, we will give up to 50% discount for 5 years or more claims free on your contents insurance, and up to 20% discount for 5 years or more years claims free on your buildings insurance.

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My son will soon be going to university, will his belongings be covered by my policy?

If he's still living with you outside of term time then we consider that he's still "permanently residing" with you and so he would continue to be covered by your policy.

Contents cover includes "contents temporarily removed" up to a limit of £8,000, this would cover contents which have been temporarily removed from your home into accommodation where a member of your household is temporarily living (for example while they are studying or working away from home). Certain cover limitations apply: we recommend that you read your policy carefully to ensure that you understand the cover which is provided.

Personal belongings (in and away from home) cover automatically applies to personal belongings taken to university by a member of your household. We recommend that you check that all the items you need cover for are included in your personal belongings cover and that your sum insured is high enough. Please call us on 0800 404 6356 if you have any questions or need cover for additional items.

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Are my credit cards covered?

Yes, if you take our personal belongings cover we will cover you for up to £1,000 of fraudulent use against your credit cards. as well as up to £500 worth of personal money both in and away from your home.

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How do I view, amend, renew and claim online?

If you are a new RAC home insurance customer or you took out a policy after 1 March 2008, you can use our online service 'My Policy' to view your current and previous insurance documents, renew or amend your cover and notify us of a claim at any time. This can all be done at a time that suits you and we don't charge an administration fee. To see how the self-service system works, you can view this demo.

To use 'My Policy' you need to be registered for an account. You may already have been sent a username and password when taking out a new policy or you can set one up yourself.

Please note the online 'My Policy' service may not be available to customers who took out a car policy before 1st March 2008.

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If I need to, can I make a claim at 2 o'clock in the morning?

Yes. All our claims helplines are available 24 hours a day 365 days a year.

Simply call 0800 051 4602 to make a claim under any section of your RAC Direct Insurance Home insurance policy except Home Emergency Cover and Legal Expenses.

Our incident managers offer help and advice 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

If you are registered for our online self service system 'My Policy', you also have the option to notify us of a home insurance claim online at any time.

For claims under Home Emergency Cover telephone 0800 404 6091.

For claims under Legal Expenses cover or to speak to a legal professional for free advice call 0800 051 4610.

The identity theft helpline number is 0800 051 2765.

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What is business use?

Business use is classed by RAC Direct Insurance as a property being used for some type of business purpose e.g. childminding from home. If you are unsure of the use of your property, please contact our team on 0800 404 6356 for further advice.

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What are the payment options with RAC Direct Insurance?

You can pay for your insurance annually using a credit/debit card or annual direct debit.  Alternatively you can pay by 2 six monthly premiums. The first payment is taken via direct debit/credit card and the second payment, taken 6 months later, is taken via direct debit. At renewal both payments are taken via direct debit.

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Can I increase cover for my garden furniture?

Yes, just select the garden cover option and cover for your garden contents (including furniture) is increased from £500 to £1,500.

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Why do I need Home Emergency Cover?

While your home insurance policy covers the residual damage caused by, say, a leaking radiator, it would not cover the cost of a plumber to come out and fix the leak itself. Or the cost of any parts he uses in the process.

Home emergency cover provides 24 hour a day access to a network of reliable tradesmen. Call-out, labour, parts and VAT are covered up to £1,000 per incident

Furthermore if you made a claim under your buildings or contents section for a claim of this nature, eg. water damage to your carpet, you would have to pay the excess relevant to that section and it could mean you lose your No Claims Discount entitlement under that section.

There is no excess to pay in the event of a claim under the Home Emergency Cover section and it will not impact any No Claims Discount you have earned elsewhere on your policy.

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If you can't find the answer you are looking for please call us on 0800 404 6356 and we will be happy to help you with any home insurance questions you may have. Calls may be recorded/monitored.