If the worst happens to your home, you will want you and your family to stay somewhere safe and warm while the damage is put right. Repairs can take a long time if damage has been severe, for instance from a flood, so you may be out of your home for an extended time.

Home insurance policies will typically pay for alternative accommodation, but the level of cover is one of the features that can vary significantly between different policies. The range of covers offered by different providers is very wide, with cover for up to 3 years not unusual under the buildings section of a higher value sum insured policy, ranging to £15,000 of cover under a contents-only policy, and levels in between. It is important that you consider what you and your family might need – should the worst happen – when buying home cover.