Barclays home insurance review

There are a number of options when it comes to insuring your house or belongings, whether you’re an owner-occupier, landlord or renter. Barclays offers both buildings and contents insurance, as well as premium cover for its Premier customers.

Barclays home insurance is also rated 5 stars by Defaqto. You can compare its range of home insurance options below.

What is Barclays?

Barclays plc is a British investment bank and financial services company that also offers a range of insurance products to cover home, travel and life insurance.

What are Barclays’ cover options?

You can choose to get building insurance, contents insurance or combine both under one policy. Barclays also offers two levels of home insurance cover for its Premier customers. These are:

Barclays Home Insurance. The standard level of policy, which offers unlimited cover on building and contents and optional extras.
Barclays Premium Home Insurance. A comprehensive policy offered to Premier customers that also covers accidental damage and loss.

Insurance is also available for landlords and students.

What is covered under my policy?

The level of cover offered by Barclays on its policies includes:

Cover benefits	Barclays Home Insurance	Barclays Premium Home Insurance
Buildings cover
Building sum insured	Unlimited	Unlimited
Alternative accommodation	£100,000	£150,000 (or up to 3 years)
Renovations and extensions	X	✓
Accidental damage cover	Optional	✓
Contents cover
Contents	Unlimited	Unlimited
Single items	Up to £2,500	Up to £15,000
Valuables	Up to £20,000	No upper limit
Student contents	Optional	Unlimited
Gadgets, bikes, sports equipment	Optional	Worldwide
Art, antiques and collections	Up to £20,000	No upper limit

In terms of contents insurance, you also have the choice of regular Contents cover or Starter Contents cover.

Optional extras

There are a number of additional cover options you can add to your Barclays home insurance policy:

Accidental building damage
Home emergency cover
Legal cover
Cover for sports equipment and bikes

What is my excess?

The excess is what you need to pay in the event you need to make a claim. Your insurance excess is the amount you have to pay each time you make a claim. You can also choose to pay a voluntary excess, which can help reduce the cost of your premiums. However, you would then need to pay the additional excess amount whenever you make a claim. Barclays also offer a five-year no claims discount if you do not make a claim for five years. More information about your excess can be found in your insurance policy document.

How much is this going to cost me?

The cost of your insurance is influenced by a large range of factors, including:

The type of policy you get. Whether you choose to insure your building, contents or both will help determine how much you pay. You will also pay more if you opt for Barclays Premium insurance or add optional extras, but will also receive a higher level of cover.
Your sum insured. The amount you receive in the event your house or contents are destroyed or need to be replaced. Barclays offers unlimited cover on buildings and contents, but you can also increase the size of your sum insured on specific items.
The age and type of home. The size, structure and history of your house all affect the cost of insurance.
Your location. If you live in an area that’s a high risk for things like fire, theft or flood, your premium will likely be higher.
Security. You can reduce the cost of insurance by securing your house with cameras, fences and locks.

What is the claims process for Barclays?

You can make a claim online using either MyPolicy or by completing Barclays’ online form. You can also make a new claim via phone at any time. You may need to provide the following information as part of your claim:

Your policy number
Details of the incident
The damage done to your building and contents

Barclays pros and cons

Pros

Barclays Platinum home insurance has a 5-star rating from Defaqto
Policies for landlords, students and renters
24-hour claim line
Unlimited cover on buildings and contents

Cons

Premium cover only available to Premier customers

The offers compared on this page are chosen from a range of products we can track; we don't cover every product on the market...yet. Unless we've indicated otherwise, products are shown in no particular order or ranking. The terms "best", "top", "cheap" (and variations), aren't product ratings, although we always explain what's great about a product when we highlight it; this is subject to our terms of use. When making a big financial decision, it's wise to consider getting independent financial advice, and always consider your own financial circumstances when comparing products so you get what's right for you. Most of the data in Finder's comparison tables has the source: Moneyfacts Group PLC. In other cases, Finder has sourced data directly from providers.

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Helen Champion

Helen Champion is an associate editor at Finder. She has worked in communications for over 16 years and currently writes on a range of topics including insurance and money transfers in the hope of empowering people to make better financial decisions. During her broadcast career, she helped to produce hundreds of news and breaking news reports for Associated Press TV and ITV News. And in public relations, she managed several high-profile public relations campaigns for Macmillan Cancer Support, the General Medical Council and overseas for Qatar Foundation on behalf of BLJ Worldwide. Helen has a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Lincoln, a passion for practising karate in the dojo and a deep love of making mischief with her sons.

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