Does Home Insurance Cover Fitted Wardrobes
Caeva O'Callaghan | June 30th, 2022
Fitted wardrobes can’t move with you. But does this mean they’re covered under your buildings policy?
Yes. Your home insurance will cover your new and old fitted wardrobes as part of your buildings policy.
This is because your fitted wardrobes count as part of the building’s structure. As they are fixed within your bedroom and you won’t take them when you move, they will be covered by your buildings insurance.
In this article, we’ll cover such questions as:
- What does buildings insurance cover?
- Will my home insurance pay for damage to my furniture?
- Will fitted wardrobes increase my home insurance?
Fitted wardrobes make an excellent storage solution. Make sure you know how your insurance affects built-in furniture before you get a quote.
What does buildings insurance cover?
Buildings insurance covers anything that counts as part of your home’s structure, rather than its contents. A good way to think about it is, if you turned your house upside down, whatever falls out would be contents and what stays in place falls under your buildings policy.
For example, your kitchen sink, toilet, stove and windows are all covered under your buildings policy. Your washing machine, sofa, TV and other belongings are all contents.
You may have installed your fitted wardrobes yourself, but they count as a modification to your home rather than a piece of furniture. This is because they cannot be removed and taken to another home when you move.
If you had a freestanding wardrobe that moved with you, this would count under your contents policy. Built-in wardrobes should always be installed by a professional, to avoid damage to your walls and make sure they last for years to come.
Will my home insurance pay for damage to my furniture?
Only if you have accidental damage cover on your contents policy, in most cases. Accidental damage cover protects your home and valuables from unintentional damage, such as someone spilling soup on the carpet or knocking through a window with a ladder.
If there’s one thing all insurance companies can agree on, it’s this: it’s always best to have accidental damage cover. The fact is, accidents happen. However, accidental damage is rarely – if ever – included as standard on most home insurance contents policies. In most cases, it’s sold as an optional extra.
In the case of fitted wardrobes, these will be covered by your buildings insurance, and therefore you need to make sure you have accidental damage covered on this policy.
This means that if you accidentally knock a chunk out of the wood of your fitted wardrobe, smash a sliding mirror or damage the shelves within, your home insurance policy should cover it.
Will fitted wardrobes increase my home insurance?
Possibly – but it’s worth checking. If you are planning on installing fitted wardrobes in your home, you may already know that they can be quite expensive to put in. If you have an oddly-shaped bedroom or sloping ceilings, you may need to hire a joiner to create a bespoke fitted wardrobe, and this can turn out to be very costly indeed.
As fitted wardrobes fall under your buildings insurance, this counts as a modification to your home’s structure, and therefore you need to mention it to your insurance provider. This is because if a fire, flood, or other disaster happens and your fitted wardrobes suffer, the claim paid needs to cover the cost of replacing them.
Consider increasing your building sum insured when you install fitted wardrobes. You won’t regret it if the worst happens. If you need to replace your fitted wardrobes, it is also worth checking out your policy excess. If it is higher than the replacement value, then it is not worth claiming.
Wondering about home insurance? Get in touch today, and our friendly experts will help you get the very best quote on the market. Call us anytime between 8.30am and 5.30pm each weekday on 0818 224433 or 042 9359051.