If you own or rent a property you should consider home insurance to cover financial loss in the event that your property or its belongings get lost, stolen, damaged or destroyed. There are two main types of home insurance; buildings insurance and contents insurance and the type of home insurance you may need varies depending on your personal circumstances. Read our article, 'Do I need home insurance?' to find out more about the different types of home insurance and which type may be best for you.
In this article, we review the home insurance provider esure; including what it covers, how much it costs and how it compares to other home insurance policies. We recommend that you read the review in full but you can jump to specific sections of the review using the following links:
- What is esure home insurance?
- esure home insurance key features
- What does esure home insurance cover?
- esure home insurance exclusions
- How much does esure home insurance cost?
- esure home insurance policy excess
- How to make a claim with esure home insurance
- How to cancel esure home insurance
- esure home insurance customer reviews
- esure home insurance pros and cons
- Alternatives to esure home insurance
- Summary
1 minute summary
- esure offers a choice between buildings, contents and combined home insurance policies.
- esure's buildings insurance policies have unlimited buildings cover while esure's contents insurance policies insure contents up to the value of £200,000.
- You can choose to enhance your esure home insurance policy with additional cover such as accidental damage, family legal protection and pest cover.
- esure home insurance is rated 5 stars by defaqto
- You should always compare home insurance policies to find the best deal for your circumstances.
- We have partnered with Quotezone* so that you can search and compare quotes from up to 50 UK home insurance providers.
What is esure home insurance?
esure insurance was founded in 2000 by Sir Peter Wood, known for launching the popular insurance brands Direct Line and Sheila's Wheels. Since its launch, esure has grown to offer additional insurance products including travel and car insurance. esure insurance is part of the esure Group plc which currently provides over 2.1m car and home insurance policies. esure's car and home insurance policies are arranged and administered by esure Services Limited.
esure home insurance key features
- 5 star defaqto rated home insurance
- Unlimited buildings cover
- Items up to £200,000 insured under contents insurance
- Cover for home office equipment
- New for old contents cover
- Enhance your cover with additional extras
What does esure home insurance cover?
You can purchase both buildings and contents home insurance policies with esure home insurance. You may also be able to save money by purchasing a combined buildings and contents home insurance policy. In the following comparison table, we share the level of cover you can expect with each esure home insurance policy. Check your policy documents carefully for specific information regarding your home insurance policy and details on your cover levels and excess.
esure home insurance policy comparison
| Buildings and contents insurance | Buildings insurance | Contents insurance | |
| Maximum sum insured | Unlimited | Unlimited | £200,000 (minimum £15,000) |
| Alternative accommodation | £75,000 | £75,000 | £10,000 |
| Fixtures and fittings | Unlimited | Unlimited |  |
| Locks and keys | £1,000 | £1,000 | £1,000 |
| Frozen/Burst pipes | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Trace and access | £5,000 | £5,000 | |
| New for old cover | Contents sum insured | |
Contents sum insured |
| Garden cover | £2,000 | |
£2,000 |
| Special events cover | Up to an additional 15% of the contents sum insured | |
Up to an additional 15% of the contents sum insured |
| Fridge and freezer contents | £1,000 | |
£1,000 |
| Home office equipment | £10,000 | |
£10,000 |
| Jewellery | £1,500 for single items or items declared above this value | |
£1,500 for single items or items declared above this value |
| Personal money | £750 | |
£750 |
| Students contents cover | £5,000 | |
£5,000 |
| Tenants liability | |
|
£10,000 |
| Personal liability | £2m | £2m | £2m |
esure home insurance policy extras
You can also enhance your esure home insurance policy with the following additional extras:
- Accidental damage – When getting an esure home insurance quote you can choose to add accidental damage cover to your buildings or contents insurance for an additional cost. Examples of accidental damage cover are red wine spills on the carpet or putting your foot through a ceiling by accident. More information on accidental damage home insurance can be found in our accidental damage home insurance guide.
- Family legal protection – Enhance your home insurance with legal costs cover up to £50,000 for you and your family including cover for employment tribunals and jury cover.
- Home emergency cover – Cover for call out charges, labour costs and materials up to £500 for emergency repairs.
- Personal possessions cover – Protect your personal items such as phones, jewellery and other valuable items when taken outside of the home.
- Pest cover – Cover up to £150 for pest control e.g wasps, mice, rats and squirrels and up to £200 for bedbugs.
esure home insurance exclusions
Below, we list some of the exclusions on an esure home insurance policy. This list is not extensive, however, so check your documents carefully so you know what is and isn't covered by your policy. As with all home insurance policies, it is important that you check your policy documents carefully for any exclusions as these can cause issues when it comes to making a claim.
If you make a claim on an esure home insurance policy you will not be covered for the following:
- General wear and tear
- Damage due to a lack of maintenance
- Deliberate acts
- Replacement or repair of electronic equipment that has stopped working or been misused
- Poor workmanship
- Damage caused by water entering your home aside from storms or flood
- Claims related to computer viruses, hacking or phishing
- Business items (excluding home office equipment which is covered up to £10,000)
- Loss of money where you cannot prove the amount lost
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How much does esure home insurance cost?
How much you will pay for your home insurance policy will vary depending on a number of factors including where you live, your property type and how much you are trying to insure. In the following comparison table, we compare the cost of esure's home insurance policies. The quotes are based on a 2-bedroom terraced property and a 4-bedroom semi-detached property in the South East of England. The quotes include a voluntary excess contribution of £100 but in the event of a claim, a higher excess amount may be payable. For more information on the cost of home insurance read our article, ‘How much does home insurance cost?‘
esure home insurance policy cost comparison
| 2 bedroom terraced property | 4 bedroom semi-detached property | |
| Voluntary policy excess | £100 | £100 |
| Combined buildings and contents insurance annual policy cost | £164.61 | £207.66 |
| Buildings insurance annual policy cost | £166.77 | £229.05 |
| Contents insurance annual policy cost | £75.58 | £79.41 |
(Quotes correct as of November 2023)
esure home insurance also has additional administration fees applicable to your home insurance policy which we highlight in the following table.
esure home insurance administration fees
| Policy cancellation within 14 days of cover | £20 |
| Policy cancellation within the first cover period but after 14 day cooling off period | £58 |
| Policy cancellation within subsequent cover periods | £35 |
| Administration changes | £20 |
| Credit referrals or unpaid direct debits | £20 |
esure home insurance policy excess
The policy excess is the amount payable by the policyholder in the event of a claim. There is usually a compulsory excess that is payable on some home insurance claims and this amount can vary depending on what you are claiming for; some claims may not even have a payable compulsory excess. It is possible to choose to contribute more towards the cost of claims with a voluntary excess.
Voluntary excess is agreed upon at the time you take out the policy and is the amount that you will contribute towards the claim in addition to any compulsory excess amounts. Usually the more excess you agree to pay towards the cost of a claim, the lower your insurance premiums but as this amount is payable when you claim, you should ensure it is affordable. If you choose to change your voluntary excess amount during the policy term you can contact esure on 0345 045 8000 but any ongoing claims will be subject to the previously agreed excess amount.
esure compulsory excess amounts
In the following table, we share the compulsory excess amounts payable on an esure home insurance policy.
| Claim type | Compulsory excess amount |
| Buildings Policy Excess | £125 |
| Contents, Personal possessions and Specified items excess | £125 |
| Escape of Water | £450^ |
| Subsidence | £1,000^ |
^payable in addition to voluntary excess amount
How to make a claim with esure home insurance
If you want to make a claim on your esure home insurance policy you can do so by calling the claims line on 0345 601 7072. The esure claims line is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and to speed up the claims process esure asks that you have as much information about your claim ready. You can also find more information about home insurance claims on the esure website where you can log in to your esure account.
How to cancel esure home insurance
You can cancel your esure home insurance policy at any time by calling 0345 045 8000 but you will be charged a fee for doing so, which is detailed in this table. Depending on when you cancel your policy you may be entitled to a full or partial refund minus any cancellation fees, but after the 14-day cooling off period you will not be refunded for any additional extras that you purchased when taking out the policy. If you have made a claim on your esure home insurance policy you will not receive a refund and will have to pay any additional cancellation fees.
esure home insurance customer reviews
Home insurance provider esure has a Trustpilot rating of ‘Average' with a score of 3.6 out of 5.0 stars from almost 35,000 reviews. 61% of reviewers have rated the provider with 5 stars and 20% of reviewers have rated esure as 1 star. Those who rated esure as 5 stars cited great customer service and a quick and easy process to set up the insurance. Customers that rated esure with 1 star cited excessively long wait times when calling customer services and problems switching off the auto-renewal. Remember with any home insurance policy it is important to do your own research and carefully read your policy documents to ensure you know exactly what you are and are not covered for.
esure home insurance pros and cons
esure home insurance pros
- Unlimited buildings insurance
- Replace old items with new with ‘New for old cover'
- Up to £10,000 home office equipment cover
esure home insurance cons
- Administration and policy cancellation charges
- Does not cover matching sets
- Does not cover damage caused by pets
Alternatives to esure home insurance
When purchasing home insurance you should shop around and compare prices from other providers to ensure you are getting the best deal. A quick and easy way to do this is via a comparison site such as Quotezone*. Comparison sites allow you to compare multiple insurers at once making it easier to find the best price for your home insurance policy. We have partnered with Quotezone* so that you can search and compare quotes from up to 50 UK home insurance providers. When using comparison sites to compare insurance quotes you should consider that they are not always whole of market which means that you may be missing out on a better deal with another insurer.
esure home insurance vs Direct Line home insurance
In the following comparison table, we compare esure's combined home insurance policy to Direct Line's basic combined home insurance policy to see how home insurance policy coverage compares between providers. Direct Line also offers two additional home insurance policies that are more comprehensive and more information can be found on the Direct Line website.
esure vs Direct Line home insurance policy comparison
| esure | Direct Line | |
| Home insurance policy type | Combined buildings and contents insurance | Combined buildings and contents insurance |
| Property type | 2 bedroom terraced | 2 bedroom terraced |
| Maximum buildings insurance cover amount | Unlimited | £1m |
| Maximum contents insurance cover amount | £200,000 (minimum £15,000) | £50,000 |
| Alternative accommodation | £75,000 | £40,000 |
| Trace and access | £5,000 | £5,000 |
| Accidental damage | Optional extra | Optional extra |
| Home emergency cover | Optional extra | Optional extra |
| Personal Possessions | Optional extra | Optional extra |
| Voluntary policy excess^ | £100 | £100 |
| Annual policy cost | £164.61 | £220.64 |
^additional excess may be payable depending on the claim type. Quotes are correct as of November 2023.
Summary
Overall, esure offers a good level of cover for its home insurance policies and you can choose between a combined policy or separate buildings and contents insurance. There is only one level of cover available but this can be adapted to suit your requirements with additional extras such as accidental damage cover and home emergency cover.
esure offers generous buildings and contents insurance cover with an unlimited sum insured for buildings cover and up to £200,000 for contents, however, it is worth considering that you may not require this much cover meaning you could be over-insuring yourself. Buildings insurance only needs to cover the rebuild value of your home and therefore you may be able to get cheaper insurance elsewhere with lower limits. You can find out the rebuild value of your home with the ABI's handy calculator. Despite its generous cover, esure still offers home insurance at a competitive price.
As with all home insurance policies, I recommend thoroughly researching providers to ensure you know exactly what you are and are not covered for, as well as comparing the cost to ensure you are always getting the best deal. Find out more home insurance money-saving tips in our article, ‘How to save money on your home insurance‘.
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