Barclays home insurance review

Barclays home insurance overview

Barclays' history dates back to 1690 when two goldsmith bankers, John Freame and Thomas Gould started a business on Lombard Street in London. 

Fast forward to today and Barclays is a high street banking giant that offers a wide range of financial products including bank accounts, mortgages, savings accounts and Isas, personal loans, credit cards, travel insurance and gadget insurance

It also sells life insurance and allows you to buy and sell investments through its Barclays Smart Investor investment platform.

The insurer of Barclays home insurance is Gresham Insurance Company Limited, which is owned by Aviva Plc. 

Aviva Plc is a public company traded on the London stock exchange. 

What does Barclays home insurance cover?

The information below gives an at-glance view of the key things that the AA's home insurance covers as standard.

Elements marked with a ✓ are covered as standard and those marked with a ✘ are not covered as standard. However, these can be added to a policy as optional extras for an additional cost.

How Which? Rates Barclays' home insurance 

To help you find the best home insurance policy, Which? goes the extra mile to sort the best from the worst. 

We survey thousands of real home insurance customers to find out how they rate their insurer for customer satisfaction. 

We also analyse and rate 60 different elements of contents and buildings insurance to create policy scores, helping you judge the quality of your cover - and how an insurer compares to its peers.

We combine this into an overall score to highlight the insurers that offer great cover and service.

Which? members can log in to see the results of our analysis. If you’re not already a member, you can sign up to a one month trial for Which? Money for just £1 to access this review and enjoy the benefits of a Which? membership.

Home And Mobile Insurance

Barclays review

Overall Which? score

Our total score score combines both the Which? Customer Score, ratings from real customers of the provider, and our expert analysis of the provider's policies. The total score is made up of 50% of the Customer Score and 25% each of Buildings and Contents policy scores.

Which? Customer Score

Which?'s rating for customer satisfaction, based on feedback from real customers. The score is made up of a customer's overall satisfaction with the brand, and how likely they are to recommend that brand.

Buildings policy score

Which?'s rating of the quality this company's buildings insurance policy. We analysed 32 features of its cover to calculate the policy score.

Contents policy score

Which?'s rating of the quality this company's contents insurance policy. We analysed 46 features of its cover to calculate the policy score.

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Barclays' home insurance policy: is it good or bad?

In February 2019, we analysed and rated 60 of the most important elements of standard home insurance policies to come up with the overall policy score.

We assess how important each individual element is when choosing and using a home insurance policy, and weight it accordingly when calculating our total policy score. Each element is given a star rating, out of five.

Overall, 54 out of the 60 elements policy elements we analysed in Barclays' home insurance earned a 3-star rating or higher.

The majority (26) of Barclays' policy elements were given a full 5-star rating,  and 25 features were given a 3-star rating or below, which indicates an above average level of cover.  

Best parts of Barclays' home insurance policy

We've identified three standout features in Barclays' home insurance policy:

• 0% APR chared if you choose to pay monthly, which scored a full 5 stars
• A discount for buying buildings and contents together, which earned 5 stars
• No cancellation fee, which we gave 5 out of 5 stars

Worst parts of Barclays' home insurance

• A £250 cover limit for money away from your home, which we only scored 1 out of 5 stars
• Up to £1,500 cover for personal possessions left in the car, which we gave 2 stars
• Max £2,500 cover for single items not specified on your policy, which only earned 2 stars

In detail: every part of Barclays' home insurance rated

Which? members can log in to see the results of our analysis. If you’re not already a member, you can sign up to a one month trial for Which? Money for just £1 to access this review and enjoy the benefits of a Which? membership.

Table last updated in February 2019. Next updated in February 2020.

Most important policy elementsSecondary policy elementsOther policy elements

Policy elements	Details	Rating	Area covered
Interest charged on payment by installments (APR)			Buildings and contents
Renewal fee (£)			Buildings and contents
Home emergency cover - standard, optional, not covered?			Buildings and contents
Home emergency cover (£)			Buildings and contents
Owner's / Occupier's liability (£)			Buildings and contents
Accidental damage cover - standard, optional, not covered?			Buildings and contents
Subsidence - standard, optional, not covered?			Buildings only
Alternative accommodation (£)			Buildings only
Burst pipes - standard, optional, not covered?			Buildings only
Blockage of sewer pipe - standard, optional, not covered?			Buildings only
Single item limit for valuables - max limit (£)			Contents only
Contents in the open - within home boundary i.e. garden (£)			Contents only
Contents in outbuildings - including garages (£)			Contents only
Theft from outbuildings (£)			Contents only
Personal Possessions - standard, optional, not covered?			Contents only
Personal Possessions limit within a car (£)			Contents only
Bicycles - standard, optional, not covered?			Contents only
Mobile phones (away from home) - standard, optional, not covered?			Contents only
Does mobile phone cover include calls?			Contents only

Policy element	Details	Rating	Area covered
Insurer pays switching fees? (£)			Buildings and contents
Adjustment fee (£)			Buildings and contents
Cancellation fee - after 14 days (£)			Buildings and contents
Duplicate document fee (£)			Buildings and contents
Standard level of excess (£)			Buildings and contents
Subsidence excess (£)			Buildings only
24 hour emergency helpline - standard, optional, not covered?			Buildings and contents
Are repairs guaranteed under home emergency cover? (Yes/No)			Buildings and contents
Gradual build up of ground water covered?			Buildings and contents
Garden cover - standard, optional, not covered?			Contents only
Storm damage to fences - standard, optional, not covered?			Buildings only
Trace and access limit (£)			Buildings only
Bicycle away from home (£)			Contents only
TV or AV equipment accidental damage - standard, optional, not covered?			Contents only
Is money covered away from home - standard, optional, not covered?			Contents only
Money in the home (£)			Contents only
Money away from the home (£)			Contents only
Digital information in the home (£)			Contents only
Students contents in digs covered - standard, optional, not covered?			Contents only
Home removal insurance - standard, optional, not covered?			Contents only
Cover level for loss of keys (£)			Buildings only
Cover level for loss of keys (£)			Contents only
Cover level for theft of keys (£)			Buildings only
Cover level for theft of keys (£)			Contents only
Is boiler cover included - home emergency cover?			Buildings and contents
Boiler cover - parts and repairs included?			Buildings and contents
Boiler cover - call-outs included?			Buildings and contents

Policy element	Details	Rating	Area covered
Payment Default fee (£)			Buildings and contents
Unoccupancy period			Buildings and contents
Legal expenses - standard, optional, not covered?			Buildings and contents
Legal expenses cover (£)			Buildings and contents
Garden contents cover (£)			Contents only
No claims discount (NCD) protection?			Buildings and contents
Students cover limit (£)			Contents only
Minimum level of excess (£)			Buildings and contents
Discount for buying buildings and contents insurance?			Buildings and contents
Business / Office equipment covered - standard, optional, not covered?			Contents only
Loss of keys - standard, optional, not covered?			Buildings only
Loss of keys - standard, optional, not covered?			Contents only
Theft of keys - standard, optional, not covered?			Buildings only
Theft of keys - standard, optional, not covered?			Contents only

To see how Barclays' home insurance compares to other policies check out our guide on the best and worst home insurance.

How did customers rate Barclays home insurance?

As well as looking at how Barclays' home insurance policy stacks up against others, we've also analysed how customers feel it too.

Which?'s rating for customer satisfaction is based on feedback from real customers. The score is made up of a customer's overall satisfaction with the brand, and how likely they are to recommend that brand.

Overall, Barclays' home insurance scored 71% for customer satisfaction, placing it 10th out of the 34 home insurers we looked at.

Customers scored Barclays' 'clarity of policy'  and 'value for money' the highest, giving both elements four stars out of five. The transparency of Barclays' charges and penalties was among the lowest scoring elements only received three stars.

The table below shows how Barclays home insurance scored for eight elements of customer satisfaction.

Customer satisfaction element	Which? Customer rating
Applications process
Clarity of policy
Dealing with queries
Ease of managing your policy online
Transparency of charges/penalties
Dealing with complaints
Experience of making a claim
Value for money

Does Barclays offer different levels of home insurance cover?

The scores shown in this review relate to Barclays' standard home insurance. It is possible to increase your level of cover by adding optional extras to your policy.  

For example, you could choose to add one of the following features to your policy, which are not included as standard:

• Accidental damage cover
• Personal possessions cover
• Working from home cover

Choosing to add these features on to your policy will come at an added cost, making your policy more expensive than a standard one.

How much does Barclays home insurance cost?

Your contents insurance and buildings insurance will be prices based on your own personal circumstances, where you live and the type of property and contents you own. 

Barclays allows you to gather quotes on its own website at www.barclays.co.uk/insurance/home-insurance. But you can also compare the Barclays' home insurance on the following price comparison sites:

• Comparethemarket.com
• Moneysupermarket.com

Check out our guide for more information on how home insurance add-ons, fees and charges affect the price of your home insurance.

What is Barclays' home insurance claims number?

If you need to make a claim with Barclays home insurance call 0800 151 617, you can also make a claim by filling out a claim form.

According to Barclays, you'll be asked to give some details about your claim. You'll be asked what happened and when it happened, and what action you've taken so far.

Then you'll be asked what you're claiming for and the approximate cost involved.

The acid test of any home insurance provider is how it handles your claim. In January 2018, Which? surveyed 1,447 members of the general public about their experiences using a major home insurance provider.

Due to the lack of sample we weren't able to score Barclays for its claims satisfaction. 

You can find out how other insurers scored in or guide making a home insurance claim.

Who underwrites Barclays home insurance?

Barclays home insurance is underwritten by Gresham Insurance Company Ltd.

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