Building and content insurance offers essential cover against incidents caused by natural disasters or break-ins and accidental damage to goods in your home.

And if you think you are immune from such events just look at the recent tornado in Kensal Rise in London, where many houses were destroyed by the weather. Things went from just another ordinary morning to disaster in the space of less than a minute and if anything emphasises the need for building and content insurance it is an event like this one.

It is important to remember that building and content insurance are two separate things, although they are often lumped together in the phrase “building and content insurance” for the sake of convenience.

Building insurance covers the bricks and mortar (in other words, the physical fabric) of your home and is insisted on by mortgage lenders, as protection for their loaning you the money, in case of events like the one described above. It is a compulsory insurance for mortgage-holders and is strongly recommended for everyone else.

Home contents insurance protects your contents in the event of burglaries or damage to goods inside the home. With police statistics showing an inexorable rise in burglaries it is strongly advised that you take home contents insurance. A burglary is an upsetting event in any case and to lack financial cover for the items taken only makes such an incident a lot worse.

The same can be said of accidental damage to your goods in the home. Floods that ruin your possessions are one common occurrence and one policyholder even successfully claimed for a replacement carpet after she dropped a hot iron on her existing item.

The building and content insurance market is very competitive and you can some great deals by shopping around for cheap home insurance. Take a look at our building and content insurance compare and buy section to get the best deals.

And remember - buying building and content insurance together will often save you hassle, but doesn’t always offer you the best deal. The trick is to look at the whole range of home insurance UK and choose the best building and content insurance for you.