We will always renew your policy with the same cover or like-for-like cover as you chose the previous year, or when you first set up your policy if this is your first renewal.
If there are any changes to your cover or cover level, we'll include these in the "Changes to your policy" section of your renewal documents.
It's always important to read your renewal invite and policy documents carefully to ensure you have the cover you need. You can always contact us or go online if you want to add or remove cover from your policy to suit your needs.
You can find information on what is and isn't covered in your policy in your policy documents.
We provide Insurance Product Information Documents, sometimes referred to as "IPIDs", which contain easy-to-read information on what's covered in your policy and what isn't.
If you include additional cover in your policy such as Home Emergency Cover and Home Legal Protection, we’ll provide you with IPID’s for these too. If there's anything you can't find in your policy documents that you'd like to check, you can start a chat with us by clicking on the speech bubble icon in the bottom right corner.
You can check this on your Certificate of Insurance.
You can check your Certificate of Insurance for exclusions or endorsements.
Changes to cover or terms will be included in a Notice to Policyholder contained within your renewal documents. This may be titled something similar to "Important Information".
Home Emergency Cover
If you’re a homeowner, Home Emergency Cover provides you with 24-hour access to qualified tradespeople when unexpected emergency repairs need to be made at home. You can add it as an option to your Home Insurance policy as an extra level of protection.
With Home Emergency Cover, you’ll get up to £500 (including VAT) towards call outs for things like broken boilers, blocked drains, and leaky gas pipes. This includes labour charges and the costs of any parts or materials needed to get your home back in working order.
You’re also covered with Roof Emergency Cover and Security Cover benefits, for example emergency roof repairs and assistance where external locks, doors or windows of the main home are damaged or fail.
You can find out more about Home Emergency Cover on our website.
Home Legal Expenses
If you’re a homeowner you can choose to add Home Legal Expenses Cover to your policy. With this cover, you can get access to a 24/7 helpline for advice on any legal matter and, if needed, optional cover for legal costs up to £100,000 - available as an extra level of protection for all Swinton Home Insurance policyholders for £29.99 a year.
You can find out more about Home Legal Expenses on our website.
An excess is the amount you would pay towards the cost of any repairs in the event of a successful claim.
For example, if your insurer accepts a claim to repair damage to your vehicle, the insurer would pay the claim amount minus the excess.
Most policies include a compulsory excess set by the insurer.
You can also choose a voluntary excess, which is set by you when purchasing or renewing your policy.
Changing your voluntary excess may affect the price of your policy.
In practice, if you need something to be repaired or replaced, in some cases your insurer would pay you directly the claim amount minus the excess. In some buildings insurance claims, your insurer would appoint someone to assess the repairs or work that needs to be done and then pay a trades person directly the claim amount in full. You would then pay your insurer the excess for your claim.
You can find information on your excess in your Policy Documents on My Account at any time.