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Dictionary

We've defined our key terms to make understanding your policy as easy as possible. You can also find these definitions in your policy wording.

E
Written by Emily Tickell
Updated over 4 months ago

Top tip: use the contents on the right hand side of this page to skip to a letter or key term you're looking for

A

Accidental damage

Sudden, unexpected and physical damage that happens at a particular time, wasn’t intentional and was caused by something external and identifiable.

B

Buildings

The structure of your home and its permanently installed:

  • Heating systems, fixed domestic gas, oil or other fuel tanks, drains, pipes, cables, cesspits, service tanks, septic tanks

  • Wind turbines, solar panels, electric vehicle charging points, heating pumps, hot tubs and swimming pools

  • Driveways, decks, hedges, fences, walls, gates, footpaths, drives, patios, terraces, hard tennis courts, decking, garden lawns, boundary or garden walls

These must all be within the boundaries of the address shown in your policy schedule.

C

Contents

Your or your family’s belongings, which you own and are responsible for. This includes, but is not limited to, furniture, movable fixtures e.g. carpets and curtains, personal and high-risk items, money, home office equipment, household items and plants in pots or containers.

If you are a tenant, your contents include as well the building's fixtures and fittings you're legally responsible for under your tenancy agreement, such as aerials and satellite dishes, as long as you don't own or insure the building elsewhere, and these items aren’t covered by another policy.

Contents doesn't include

  • Motorised vehicles and their parts

  • Living creatures

  • Lottery and raffle tickets, credit cards, bitcoin or securities

  • Marquees and related items

  • Business stock, tools or materials

  • Items used for business or professional purposes, except home office equipment

  • Items belonging to visitors visiting your home

Contents insured risks

The risks mentioned in the Contents insured risks subsection of the Contents cover section.

D

Domestic employee

Any person you’ve hired to carry out domestic duties related to your home and garden. This excludes people you’ve employed:

  • To give medical or nursing care for you or your family

  • To work for your or your family’s business, trade or profession

E

Excess

The amount you’ll have to pay towards each separate claim.

F

Family

Your family members (e.g. your husband, wife, partner, civil partner, children, foster children, parents and any other relative) who permanently live with you in your home during the insurance period and aren’t paying for their accommodation.

G

Garden

In the open within the boundaries of the address shown in your policy schedule.

H

Heave

Expansion or swelling of the land beneath the buildings resulting in upwards movement.

High-risk items

The following contents that belong to you or your family and which you’re legally responsible for:

  • Jewellery (including costume jewellery)

  • Watches

  • Laptops

  • Pedal cycles

  • Furs, pearls, precious metals and stones, gemstones, or any other articles made from or containing gold, silver and other precious metals or stones

  • Designers’ clothes and footwears

  • Pictures, paintings, prints, antiques, sculptures and works of art

  • Any collectible articles that are rare or unusual

  • Stamp, coin, medal or other collections

  • Musical instruments

  • Audio-visual and photographic equipment, such as cameras or camcorders (including their accessories), where the main function is to take photos or record videos

  • Sporting equipment

  • Shooting, camping or angling equipment

  • Computers, TVs, mobiles phones, tablets and electronic notebooks

  • Telescopes, binoculars, clocks and barometers

  • Hearing aids

Home

This is the main building where you live and which you’re legally responsible for, including its garages which are part of or attached to the main building and, its outbuildings, all used for domestic purposes only.

Home office equipment

Office equipment which you own or are responsible for and which you use to do work at home, for clerical work related to your or your employer’s business. These include desktop computers, laptops, phones, printers, fax machines and photocopiers. It doesn’t include any business stock

I

Insurance period

The length of time you’re protected by our home insurance cover, providing you pay the full premium. You’ll find your insurance period in your policy schedule.

J

K

L

Landslip

The movement of land down a slope.

M

Money

Money you or your family own for personal or domestic purposes:

  • Current legal tender or currency (bank notes and coins currently accepted as payment)

  • Cheques, postal or money orders and postage stamps which aren’t part of a collection

  • Premium bonds, saving and trading stamps or certificates

  • Traveller’s cheques and travel tickets, including season tickets

  • Luncheon vouchers, petrol coupons, phone cards and mobile-phone vouchers

  • Pre-booked event and entertainment tickets, valid gift cards or tokens, reward vouchers and tokens with cash value and electronic money cards

Motorised vehicle

Any licensed or unlicensed vehicle that’s electrically or mechanically powered, propelled, or assisted, as well as its parts, spares, keys and accessories.

These vehicles include, but are not limited to:

  • Adult and children’s motor vehicles, craft, ride-on toys, motorcycles, e-scooters, models, and off-road vehicles, such as quad bikes

  • Caravans and trailers

  • Watercraft

  • Aircraft, including gliders and hang-gliders, or any other flying device, such as drones ▪ Electrically assisted pedal cycles (except the ones mentioned in pedal cycles definition)

Motorised vehicle does not include:

  • Domestic gardening equipment you use on your property and golf trolleys, both being controlled by a person on foot

  • Electric wheelchairs and mobility scooters or carriages as long as they are not required to be licensed to be used on the road

N

O

Outbuildings

Detached garages, sheds, greenhouses, summer houses and other permanent and immovable structures which don’t form part of the main building you live in but are within the boundaries of the same address shown in your policy schedule, used by only you and your family for personal and domestic purposes or for clerical business, and cannot be lived in.

Outbuildings doesn’t include:

  • Mobile homes, caravans or motor homes

  • Stables or agricultural buildings

  • Car ports or any structure that’s open on one or more sides

  • Aviaries, pigeon lofts and tree houses

  • Structures made of canvas, PVC or any other non-rigid or inflatable material

  • Any other structure that can be moved or isn’t permanent

P

Pedal cycles

Pedal cycles that aren’t required to be licensed to be used on the road. These include electrically assisted pedal cycles with a maximum power output of 250 watts and/or speed of no more than 15mph, and their tyres and accessories.

Personal possessions

Contents that are designed to be worn or carried outside your home to use for mainly personal purposes, by you and your family and are usually kept at your property. Some examples include watches, laptops, tablets and pedal cycles.

Policy documents

The following documents together make up your insurance contract:

  • Your policy wording

  • Your policy schedule

  • Your statement of facts

Policy schedule

Your policy schedule is the document we send to you when you buy home insurance from us. We may update it from time to time and it lists the following information:

  • Your policy number

  • Type of home insurance cover you bought from us

  • Insurance period

  • The sections of the policy wording that apply to you

  • Your cover limits and excesses that’ll apply if you make a claim

Q

R

S

Settlement

Downward movement of the land beneath the buildings as a result of compaction due to the weight of the buildings.

Specified high-risk items

The high-risk items specified as such in your policy schedule.

Storm

A period of violent weather that’s defined as:

  • Wind speeds with gusts of at least 55mph

  • Rain that falls at a rate of at least 30mm per hour

  • Snow that falls at a rate of at least 30cm in 24 hours

  • Hail that causes damage to hard surfaces and/or breaks glass

Subsidence

A downward movement of the land beneath the buildings that is not as a result of settlement.

T

U

Unfurnished

A property that doesn’t have enough furniture for normal living purposes.

United Kingdom

Great Britain, Isle of Man, Channel Islands and Northern Ireland.

Unoccupied

When you, your family, lodgers or tenants haven’t lived in your property for more than the unoccupancy period in your policy schedule. To live in means to carry out day-to-day activities, such as cooking, eating, bathing and sleeping at your home.

V

W

We/Us/Our

Umbrl Limited, trading as umbrl, on behalf of Casualty & General Insurance Company (Europe) Limited.

X

Y

You/Your

The person or persons named as policyholder(s) in your policy schedule or in the event of death, their legally appointed representative.

Z

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