Fines

Our declaration question asks - 'Do you or any member of your family to be insured have any unspent convictions or prosecutions pending?'&nb...

Previous claims

You'll need to give us the details of any Home Insurance claims made by you or your family in the last five years.With previous claims, each...

Elderly or disabled customers

If you've made any modifications to your buildings, to help elderly or disabled members of your family, they'd be covered under the normal t...

Childminders

If your occupation is childminding and this is based out of the property to be insured, unfortunately we can’t provide a quote. We’ll only a...

Definition of storm

A storm, or period of violent weather, is defined in the policy booklet as; • Wind speeds with gusts of at least 48 knots (55mph), equi...

Listed buildings

We'll cover listed buildings as standard; however, you'll need to make sure you select a high enough limit on your Buildings Insurance to co...

Pet damage

Our policies exclude loss or damage caused by pets as a result of fouling, scratching, tearing or chewing.Tenants Contents & Tenants Lia...

Dangerous dogs

If you or anyone in your household owns or is legally responsible for a dog that’s described in the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 or Article 3 of ...

Short term insurance

Paymentshield don't offer 'short term' policies for insurance on a temporary basis.For example, if you are a homeowner or landlord planning ...

Mixed wall or roof construction

When telling us what your wall or roof is made up of, refer to the below to help you decide what construction material to select.If the wall...

Public sewers

If a public sewer bursts on the grounds of your property and you're legally responsible to fix it, you'd be covered for accidental breakage ...

Solar panels

If you own solar panels and they're attached to your home or fixed to the ground within the boundaries of your home, we'd cover them as a fi...

Contents in the open grounds

If you have items like built-in hot tubs and ponds that are permanent structures and fixed to the grounds of your property, these would be c...

Quarter houses

If your property is described as a quarter house, this would be treated as a flat for insurance purposes.

Detached, semi detached & terraced

Please see below for the definitions of the different types of property: DETACHEDWhere the structure of the property isn't attached to ...

Students

This policy has an additional level of cover specifically for students living away from home. This additional cover provides £10,000 fo...

Tools

A Paymentshield Contents Insurance policy covers tools within your home, but only for personal use. Tools are not covered under: -...

Shrubs and plants

Shrubs and plants are covered under both the buildings and contents sections of our Home Insurance policy wording. This ensures that sh...

Security restrictions

You should keep in mind that it is important to keep your property secure at all times, as there are some security restrictions that apply t...

Working from home

If you work from home, you'll be covered under this policy, as long as it's only clerical work that you are doing. Your cover will not ...

Lodgers

We are unable to provide insurance for your home if you have a lodger staying at your property. This policy will cover your family whic...

How claims are paid

If you make a claim, the insurer on your policy will let you know if you have to pay your chosen excess first, before they'll pay out on the...

Outbuildings

There are some important things to keep in mind regarding the terms of cover for outbuildings (a building that's separate to your main home,...

Travel insurance contribution

When you claim under your travel insurance, the travel insurance company may often contact the home insurance company for a contribution to ...

Coach houses

If you live in a coach house, this should be insured as a house i.e. detached house, semi-detached house or terrace. We can provide cov...

Annexe or granny flats

If you have an annexe or granny flat, occupied by a family member and which forms part of your main building, this can be covered under your...

Insurance premium tax (IPT)

What is Insurance Premium Tax (IPT)? Insurance Premium Tax is a Government led tax on general insurance premiums. Exemptions from ...

Motorised vehicles

Our contents insurance provides cover for:- Pedal cycles - powered (electric bicycles)- Mobility scooters/carriages- Motorised/electric whee...

Boiler cover

As a boiler is classed as a 'Fixture and Fitting' it’s covered under our Buildings Insurance, boilers are covered for the standard risks, i....

No claims discount - first time buyers

For first time buyers of a residential property, we offer an introductory no claims discount of two years. Who do we class as a first-t...

Homes let out on occasional basis - Home insurance

Our panel of insurers will continue to insure policyholders who let out their homes on an occasional basis for events such as The Open Champ...

Loss from communal areas

If you leave any contents in communal parts of a building, often found in places such as a block of flats, these aren’t covered under the ge...

Musical instruments

Musical instruments are covered under contents insurance within the home.However, if you store an instrument within an outbuilding, such as ...

Is Paymentshield an insurer or an insurance intermediary?

Paymentshield acts as the administrator for this insurance policy on behalf of different underwriters. This is commonly referred to as 'whit...

Pedal cycles

Pedal cycles are covered within the home, under contents insurance. Please be aware that accidental damage to pedal cycles is excluded....

Contents during removal

This policy will cover your contents while they are being moved by professional removers from your current home, directly to your new perman...

Build year

When telling us the build year of your home, you must give the date that the original building was first constructed (or the date that the f...

Rebuild costs

You must always insure your home cover is based upon the rebuild value of the property and not the purchase value.The purchase value of your...

Stables

Providing the stables are for personal use, buildings insurance can be provided under this policy. In order to be covered, the stables ...

Unoccupied at start date - home insurance

You need to tell us if your property is going to be unoccupied when taking out a policy, and by this we mean "When your home is not going to...

Holiday homes

If the property you want to insure is a second home/holiday home, which isn't permanently lived in by you and your family, Paymentshield can...

Fixed units, laminate, vinyl and carpet

Kitchen/bathroom units and laminate flooring are generally fixed to the buildings and are therefore covered under buildings insurance. This ...

Bedroom - definition

When telling us how many bedrooms your property has, you need to include rooms that were originally designed for sleeping in, even if they a...

Accessing your documents online

For all our policyholders, we offer an online service which lets you access your policy documentation online. If you’d like to access y...

Making a claim

If you're looking to make a new claim on your policy or discuss an existing one, you can speak to your insurer/underwriter directly.If you d...

Home emergency

Home emergency cover provides 24-hour access to an approved tradesperson to resolve a range of emergencies. Call out charges, parts and...

Legal expenses

Legal expenses cover can provide cover up to £100,000 of legal support to help deal with unforeseen legal situations and there is no excess ...

Cancellations

If at any point you wish to cancel your Paymentshield insurance, you'll need to contact us directly. You can do this using our webchat, whic...

Mobile phones - home insurance

When you take out Paymentshield Home Insurance , you have the option to cover your mobile phone both in and away from the home. Mobile ...

Electronic & entertainment equipment

If you take out a Paymentshield Home Insurance policy, accidental damage to televisions, video and audio installations, computer equipment, ...

Making payments online

Once you’ve taken out a Paymentshield policy, if you’re within your renewal period, you can pay for your renewal online each year by card us...

Invasive plants

The presence of an invasive plant for example, Japanese Knotweed or Bamboo on your property wouldn't prevent you from buying a Home or Landl...

Renovations & alterations - home insurance

When you're taking out Paymentshield Home Insurance, if you're having renovations or alterations done to your property, please check the inf...

E-bikes

Pedal cycles including powered electric bicycles can be covered under contents and personal possessions.If you own an individual pedal cycle...

Transferring no claims discount from overseas

You can transfer a No Claims Discount (NCD) from your overseas property to your Paymentshield policy providing it's on a "like for like" bas...

Roof construction

When obtaining a quote for your insurance from Paymentshield, you'll be asked the construction type of the roof of your building.You must se...

Cover for maisonettes

We can offer Buildings & Contents Insurance for maisonette properties as standard. Please select the relevant property type from the opt...

Home emergency & legal expenses contact details

There are separate contact numbers shown on your Insurer Schedule for Home Emergency and Legal Expenses if you have chosen these sections of...

Flat roofs

When taking out Paymentshield Home Insurance, please note we can provide cover on properties with flat roofs.You must select the main constr...

No claims discount for first time buyer and non-first time buyer

When taking out Paymentshield Home Insurance, if your policy will be in joint names, we can only apply the two years no claims discount if b...

Properties situated by water sources

When taking out Paymentshield Home Insurance, you don’t need to declare if your property is situated near to an open water source, such as a...

Personal Possessions exclusions & limitations

Personal Possessions is optional cover for your home insurance policy. It covers you for accidental damage, theft or loss of your personal b...

Buildings sum insured

Your 'buildings sum insured' refers to the amount needed to fully rebuild your home, in the event your home was completely destroyed. T...

Jewellery lost in the home

Losing a piece of jewellery in the home isn't covered under our standard Contents Insurance, unless the loss is a direct result of an insure...

Unoccupancy - home insurance

Once you have taken out a Paymentshield policy, if your property is going to be unoccupied for more than 60 days, we can continue to offer c...

Subsidence - new business

Unfortunately, we can't cover any property that has suffered from subsidence, landslip or heave. If you're unsure if your property has ...

Evidence of no claims discount

When you take out Paymentshield Home Insurance, we won't ask you for proof of how many years no claims discount you have.However, your insur...

Coal mines/mine shafts

You don’t need to declare if your property is situated near to a coal mine or mine shaft.As long as you're able to answer the eligibility qu...

Transferring no claims discount

No claims discount can only be transferred from like-to-like cover. This means, for example, we're unable to transfer a no claims discount t...

Convictions

Unfortunately, we're unable to provide insurance if you, or any member of your family living with you, has any unspent convictions or prosec...

Administration charges

Paymentshield do charge an administration fee. This covers our general administration costs, for example, issuing policy documentation to yo...

Freezer & fridge contents

Contents Insurance covers loss or damage to food in a freezer within your home. Examples of what's covered include:- A change in the tempera...

Wedding & birthday gifts

When you take out a Paymentshield policy, for one month before and one month after your wedding, civil ceremony, birthday, anniversary, reli...

Sports equipment

If you own any sports equipment, this is covered under your Contents Insurance. Personal possessions cover can also be selected if you ...

Guns

Guns can be covered in your home under Contents Insurance. You can also cover guns taken away from the home if you select our optional perso...

What is an excess?

The excess on a policy is a fixed amount that you must pay if you make a claim. This payment will either be taken by your insurer before the...

Business equipment at home

We can cover business equipment if you’re working from home. This includes computer equipment such as laptops, tablets, printers, photo...

Auto renewals - opt in & opt out

What does Auto Renew mean?Auto renewal is the process of automatically enrolling into a new insurance policy before your current policy is d...

Ukrainian Refugees

Following the heart-breaking events happening in Ukraine, we want to help our customers show their support for those who have had to flee th...

What if the details on my policy are incorrect?

If you identify any information on your policy that is incorrect, please use our webchat service to let us know or call our customer service...

Bathroom - definition

When taking out a policy and specifying the number of bathrooms, please be sure to include wet-rooms, ensuites, toilet rooms and shower room...