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.
✓ Loss and theft of keys
Loss and theft of keys will cover the cost of replacing your keys if they are ever lost or stolen.
✓ Garden cover
Garden cover protects against damage to items in your garden including plants and garden furniture
✘ Home emergency
Home emergency cover provides assistance of central heating, electrical emergencies, plumbing or draining issues.
✘ Accidental damage
Accidental damage protects against sudden and unconventional physical damage to the structure of your property as well as your furniture and belongings.
✘ Burst pipes
Covers the cost of repairing burst pipes in your property.
✘ 24 hour (emergency) helpline
Allows you to call a 24-hour helpline for assistance in the case of a home emergency.
✘ Legal expenses
Legal expenses cover the cost of legal expenses should you need to pursue legal action against another party.
✘ Personal possessions
Personal possessions cover protects your portable belongings while you’re outside of your property.
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.
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.
| 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 |
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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