Home insurance Glossary

Accidental Damage (Buildings)
Optional cover providing protection for accidents that might damage the permanent structure of your home. For example putting your foot through the ceiling when you are in the loft.

Accidental Damage (Contents)
Optional cover providing protection for accidents that might damage your home contents. For example spilling paint on your carpet or damaging an ornament.

Construction Type
The material used to build the wall of the insured property i.e. brick or other material.

Contents Value
Cover for loss or damage to the contents in your home caused by a range of events such as fire, theft and flood.

Continuous Authority
We will automatically renew your insurance policy every year without changing the payment method.

Endorsements
These change the terms or conditions of your policy, or may give you different cover. Any endorsements that apply to your policy will be shown in your schedule.

Excess Amount
An excess is the amount you pay towards any claim. The higher excess amount the lower the premium you will pay. This will either have been chosen by yourself or by Nationwide based on the information you have supplied.

Five Lever Mortice Locks

5-lever mortice lock.
Multi-point locking (on modern UPVC doors where you lift the handle up before locking and bolts come out top, middle and bottom).
Patio doors with individual key-operated locks/bolts top and bottom or fitted with multi-point locking.

Any of the above will qualify you to answer yes to the question on all doors having 5 lever mortice locks.

Home Emergency
24 hour assistance if a home emergency occurs and you need a tradesman to make your home safe, secure and prevent further damage. You can cover up to £500 to deal with problems such as roof, plumbing and drainage damage, main heating system and domestic power supply failure, plus damage to your home security.

Insurance Premium Tax (IPT)
A tax imposed on general insurance premiums by the government. This is included in the price of your home insurance.

Legal Assistance
This provides 24 hour access to personal legal advice over the phone and cover for legal costs up to £50,000 for help with employment disputes, property disputes, personal injury claims, contractual disputes, motoring prosecutions and tax protection. You also have cover for the irrecoverable loss of your salary or wages if you attend jury service.

Legal Interests
Someone who has a financial interest in your property such as a mortgage provider.

Listed or Historical
Buildings or structures of special architectural or historic interest that is included on a list. If you are unsure, you can see lists covering your local area and obtain copies of individual entries at your local council planning department, County Council offices or at most local reference libraries.

Neighbourhood Watch
Is the property in an area designated as a neighbourhood watch area by the National Neighbourhood Watch Association (NNWA).

Number of Storeys
This is the total number of storeys including the basement and any loft conversion.

Payment Day
The day in the month that the direct debit will be taken on. The payment day can only be between 1st and 28th of the month.

Pedal Cycle Cover
Optional additional cover for loss or damage to pedal cycles (including its parts and accessories) away from your home while anywhere within Europe, or for up to 60 days elsewhere in the world.

Personal Possessions Outside Home
Optional additional cover for accidental loss or damage to items that you usually take out of your home. For example:

Clothes and personal Items.
Camera & Video Equipment.
Portable musical instruments.
Personal Laptop computers.
Camping equipment.
Sports equipment.
Pushchairs & wheelchairs.
Children's electric toys.
Telescopes & binoculars.
Money.

The cover is for anywhere within Europe and for up to 60 days elsewhere in the world.

If you have any of these items that are worth more than £2,000 they will need to be listed on the policy.

Unspecified personal possessions has a maximum sum insured of £2,000.

Professionally Maintained Alarm
This is an alarm installed by a NSI (incorporating NACOSS & ISI) or SSAIB approved company, and is annually maintained by that company.

NSI stands for "National Security Inspectorate" and SSAIB stands for "Security Systems and Alarms Inspection Board". Both these organisations are independent and provide inspection certification services across the security industry.

Rebuild Cost
Nationwide buildings insurance covers the rebuilding cost of your home if it is damaged or destroyed by a number of different events such as storm, fire, flood and subsidence.

Buildings means the home and its walls, terraces, gates, fences, hedges, paths, drives, hard courts, patios, swimming pools, fixtures and fittings (but not television, radio and satellite dish aerials, aerial fittings and masts), ornamental ponds and fountains, tanks, pipes and cables serving the building for which you are legally liable.

The reinstatement value is not the same thing as market price. The reinstatement value is the cost to fully rebuild your home, including site clearance and legal fees. The cost of rebuilding your home varies, depending on where you live.

The cost to rebuild your home will be stated on your insurance renewal or policy document. If it is a new property and you have a mortgage it will be stated in your lender's valuation report.

Note that it is your responsibility to ensure that you are adequately insured. If necessary you should obtain your own insurance valuation from a surveyor.

Roof Type
Is the roof thatched or standard (standard is any material other than thatch e.g. slate or tile). If the property is partly thatched it should be classed as thatched.

Valuables Inside Home
Valuables are insured as part of your contents cover up to a limit of 30% of your contents sum insured. You can choose to increase this limit if you need more. Valuables means:

Jewellery and watches.
Items made of gold, silver and other precious metals.
Furs.
Pictures and other works of art.
Collections of stamps, coins and medals.

If you have any of these items that are worth more than £2,000 they will need to be listed on the policy.

Window locks
Key operated window locks to all opening windows and skylights.

Nationwide buildings and contents insurance is underwritten by Churchill Insurance Company Limited.