Home Insurance

Home Emergency cover is provided under all home policies, and you can contact ARAG for help 24/7 on 01872 272157.

As a general rule, items that would remain with the property should you move are considered buildings, e.g. fitted kitchen units. Items that you would take with you are considered contents, e.g. furniture.

Yes, if you have Home Contents Insurance.  In this case, the Occupiers and Personal Liability section of your home insurance Policy covers your legal liability as an employer of any domestic employee.

Accidental damage comes as standard for buildings and can be added as an optional extra under the contents section. It covers unexpected and unintentional damage to items inside the home, such as:

•    Dropping your phone indoors
•    Knocking over a TV
•    Spilling something that causes damage

This cover applies only to contents inside the home unless portable possessions cover is added.

Portable possessions cover provides protection for accidental damage, loss, or theft to items that can be worn, used or carried anywhere within the UK such as mobile phones, glasses and hearing aids. Cover includes up to 60 days worldwide for when you are on holiday.

Pedal cycles are covered only if portable possessions cover has been added to your policy. Please note any pedal cycle over £750 in value needs to be specified.

With Cornish Mutual's farm insurance, storm cover is available and must be selected. Cover is subject to the buildings being in a good state of repair and generally won’t cover damage caused by wear and tear, even if it becomes noticeable after a storm. 

This depends on your policy type.

• Home insurance: may cover fences only if the main building or outbuildings are also damaged.
• Farm / Let Property: fences, gates and hedges are typically excluded. 

If you’re unsure, we’ll talk you through it.

If a tree falls and damages your building during a storm, your policy will cover the resulting damage if your policy provides cover for storm. 

Cornish Mutual covers the cost of removing a tree to allow repairs to a damaged building if you have storm damage cover. However, if you do not have storm cover or if a tree has simply fallen without causing damage, it is not covered.

Unfortunately not. If there is no damage to insured buildings, Cornish Mutual does not cover the cost of removal. 

If your policy covers your buildings for storm, your Cornish Mutual policy will deal with repairs to your buildings. 

In most cases, no. Your neighbour should claim through their own insurer, because owning a tree doesn’t automatically mean you are at fault. 

For a third party to claim against you, it typically needs to be proved the damage was caused due to your negligence (fault). 

If you need to make a claim, contact us as soon as possible. Follow these simple steps to help your claim progress smoothly:

• Collect important information:

Try to have the relevant details to hand, including what happened (the circumstances), a description of the damage or loss and details of any third parties involved. Doing this as soon as possible helps while events are still fresh in your mind.

• Support your claim with evidence:

You may be asked to provide proof of ownership or evidence to support your claim, such as original purchase receipts, photographs, bank statements, instruction booklets.

• Photograph damage and keep anything relevant:

Where possible, don’t complete repairs before reporting your claim. Make sure you take clear photos of the damage, keep estimates and invoices, and any broken parts as they may help support your claim.

• Share any reference numbers:

If emergency services have attended (such as police or fire), share all incident or crime reference numbers with the Claims Technician handling your claim.

If you’re unsure what to do at any stage, we’ll guide you through the process and let you know what information we need.

Delays can affect your claim and, in some cases, leave you uncovered. Reporting a claim promptly is important because:

• We can appoint the right impartial expert quickly, such as a loss adjuster for property claims or a motor engineer for vehicle claims. They can assess the cause and extent of the loss, confirm what cover applies, and help reach a fair settlement where needed.
• It reduces the risk of further damage, for example from a faulty or burst water pipe. In some cases, we may be able to involve restoration experts to help minimise damage early on.
• Evidence can be lost over time, such as CCTV footage being overwritten or witness details becoming harder to obtain.
• We can guide you on next steps, such as gathering estimates or the right supporting evidence. For lost or stolen items this could include proof of purchase, such as a receipt or bank statement.

If the damage is significant and covered, we may appoint a loss adjuster to assess the damage and support you through the process.