Nationwide home insurance review

We've checked the cover options of Nationwide's home insurance to help you decide if you'll get a good deal.

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Helen Champion

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Nationwide’s home insurance can be tailored to suit your requirements, which means you won’t have to pay for any cover that you don’t need. Its building insurance and contents insurance can be bought separately, and there is a wide range of optional extras to enhance a policy.

Nationwide’s home cover is 5*-Defaqto-rated and Nationwide members will continue to get a 25% discount after the first year. What’s more, Nationwide claims to settle claims of up to £1,000 within 24 hours. Here’s what else we think you should know about Nationwide.

Who is Nationwide?

Nationwide has origins in the Provident Union Building Society, the Northampton Town & County Freehold Land Society and the co-operative movement in London in the 1880s. Today, after several mergers, Nationwide is one of the world’s largest mutual financial institutions. It offers banking services as well as credit cards, investments and insurance for home, travel, mobile phone amongst others.

Nationwide Building Society is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority.

What are Nationwide’s cover options?

Nationwide offers 5*-Defaqto-rated home insurance in the following options:

  • Buildings insurance
  • Contents insurance up to £50,000
  • Contents insurance more than £50,000
  • Combined buildings and contents insurance

What is covered under my policy?

Nationwide’s home insurance has several cover benefits as standard, including:

Buildings insurance
  • Unlimited buildings cover
  • Alternative accommodation up to £50,000
  • Trace and access cover up to £5,000
  • Unlimited escape of water cover
  • Key and lock cover up to £750
  • Owner’s liability cover up to £2 million
Contents insurance
Cover benefitsUp to £50,000 contents coverMore than £50,000 contents cover
Contents cover£50,000Unlimited
Valuables in the home£15,000£30,000
Alternative accommodation£15,000£30,000
Theft from outbuildings£2,500£5,000
Family cover (dependent relative)£5,000£5,000
Student cover£5,000£10,000
Personal liability£2 million£5 million
Temporary removal£5,000£10,000
Household removal£50,000Unlimited
Fridge and freezer contents cover£750£1,000
Money in your home£750£1,000
Key cover£750£1,000
Loss of oil or water£750£1,000

Optional extras

Nationwide offers a range of additional protection to bolt onto your specific home insurance policy, including:

  • Accidental damage cover
  • Matching items cover
  • Garden cover
  • Out and about cover
  • Bicycle cover
  • Home emergency cover
  • Legal cover

What is my excess?

Your insurance excess is the amount of money you will need to pay towards a claim. Your insurer won’t pay out for a claim that costs less than this amount.

The minimum excess on Nationwide’s home insurance is £50. However, this can be increased to £500. Escape of water or damaged building or contents has an excess of £350.

On Nationwide’s buildings insurance, there is a £1,000 excess for subsidence, landslip or heave.

You’ll find details about any excesses in your policy document.

How much is this going to cost me?

There are a number of factors that can affect the cost of your Nationwide home insurance premium, including:

  • The cover option you choose. Enhancing your buildings, contents and combined cover policies with optional extras will provide more features and broader cover than Nationwide’s standard cover options, which will likely be reflected in the price.
  • Your sum insured. The greater the amount you wish to insure your home or contents for, the more you can expect to pay for cover.
  • Your home. The age of your home and the materials from which it is constructed can influence its ability to withstand damage.
  • Where your home is located. Certain risks, for example, storm and theft, are more prevalent in certain areas, and insurers will take this into consideration when calculating your premiums.
  • Security. Security measures such as an alarm system and deadbolts can act as a deterrent to thieves and therefore reduce the cost of your cover.

Nationwide customer reviews

In our 2024 customer satisfaction survey, 84% of customers stated that they would recommend Nationwide to a friend. Although some customers have reportedly struggled with the AI help service and there can be long wait times, the customer service feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

One customer commented: “Really helpful and knowledgeable staff, great customer service.”

Several have said that the staff are knowledgeable and the company is always evolving to be sustainable, with many commenting on the trust and reliability of the company.

Not all comments were totally positive, mainly around Nationwide’s website which is “not always the easiest to use”.

What is the claims process for Nationwide?

You should call the 24-hour Nationwide claims line on 0800 145 60 60.

You will likely need to provide the following information to make a claim on your home insurance:

  • Your policy details and personal contact details.
  • The date of the incident.
  • Details such as the cause of the incident.
  • The value of any lost or damaged items being claimed for.
  • Names and addresses of any other people involved in or responsible for the incident, including details of injuries.

You may also need to provide the following additional information:

  • Original purchase receipts, invoices, manual booklets or photographs, bank statements, utility bills, plans or deeds of your property.
  • Purchase dates and location of lost or damaged property.
  • Confirmation from a suitably qualified expert that the damaged property you intend to claim back for is beyond repair.

It’s vital that you let your insurer know about an incident as soon as possible. Failure to do this could result in a rejected claim later on.

Nationwide home insurance pros and cons

Pros

  • Nationwide’s home insurance policy is 5*-Defaqto-rated.
  • Nationwide’s home insurance policies can be enhanced with extra protection.
  • Claims line is open 24/7.

Cons

  • You may have to pay an administration fee if you decide to amend your policy.
  • Accidental damage cover for buildings is not included as standard with building cover.
  • Accidental damage cover for contents is not included as standard with contents cover.
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Helen Champion was 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. See full bio

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