Who is Halifax?
Halifax was founded as a building society in 1853 and over the years it's continued to grow and now offers a wide range of financial products such as home insurance, mortgages, loans and credit cards.
In January 2009 Halifax joined the Lloyds Banking Group, which also owns Lloyds Bank, Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows.
Lloyds Banking group is a public company, listed on the London Stock Exchange.
- Find out more: what is contents insurance?
What does Halifax home insurance cover?
The information below gives an at-glance view of the key things that Halifax'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.
✓ 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.
✓ 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.
✘ 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.
✘ 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.
✘ Garden cover
Garden cover protects against damage to items in your garden including plants and garden furniture.
- Find out more: what is buildings insurance?
How Which? Rates Halifax's home insurance
To help you find the best home insurance 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.
Halifax's 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, 46 out of the 60 elements policy elements we analysed in Halifax's home insurance earned a 3-star rating or higher.
A total of 22 of Halifax's policy elements scored a full 5-star rating and the same number of elements earned a 3-star rating too; which indicates an average level of cover.
Best parts of Halifax's home insurance policy
We’ve identified three standout features in Halifax’s home insurance policy:
- Up to £10,000 for student contents cover, which earned a full 5 stars
- A £15,000 limit for personal possessions left in the car, which we gave 5 stars
- Up to £5,000 for contents stolen from outbuildings (e.g sheds and garages), which scored 4 stars
Worst parts of Halifax's home insurance policy
We've identified three features in Halifax's home insurance policy which scored poorly:
- A minimum excess of £100, which only earned 1 star out of 5
- Up to £1,000,000 for owner's/occupier's liability cover, which scored 2 stars
- Only £250 cover for loss and theft of keys, which we gave 2 stars
In detail: every part of Halifax's 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 Halifax's home insurance compares to other policies check out our guide on the best and worst home insurance.
How did customers rate Halifax's home insurance?
As well as looking at how Halifax's home insurance policy stacks up against others, we've also analysed how customers feel about 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, Halifax home insurance scored 70% for customer satisfaction, placing it 16th out of the 34 home insurers we looked at.
Customers scored Halifax's 'application process' the highest, giving it four stars out of five. Halifax's 'value for money' was among its lowest-scoring features and only received three stars.
The table below shows how Halifax home insurance scored for eight elements of customer satisfaction.
| Customer satisfaction element | Which? Customer rating |
| Application 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 Halifax offer different levels of home insurance cover?
The scores shown in this review relate to Halifax's standard home insurance policy. If you would like to take out home insurance with the Halifax but need more cover, you could opt for the Halifax Home Insurance Ultimate policy.
This policy offers:
- Unlimited cover for theft and loss of keys
- Accidental damage included as standard
- Garden cover included as standard
How much does Halifax home insurance cost?
Your contents insurance and buildings insurance will be priced based on your own personal circumstances where you live and the type of property and contents you own.
Halifax allows you to gather quotes on its own website halifax.co.uk/insurance/home-insurance/.
But you can also compare Halifax's home insurance on the following price comparison sites:
- Comparethemarket.com
- Confused.com
- Gocompare.com
- Moneysupermarket.com
Check out our guide for more information on how add-ons, fees, and charges affect the price of your home insurance.
What is Halifax's claims number
If you need to make a claim with Halifax home insurance call 0345 600 6001.
Halifax will ask for your policy details, so be sure to have them with you when you call to make a claim. Your claims manager will ask you details about what happened including dates, times and anyone else involved in your claim.
If your claim is complex, Halifax can arrange for you to have a face to face appointment with a personal claims consultant to help make your claim process as smooth as possible.
The acid test of any home insurance provider is how it handles your claim. In January 2019, Which? surveyed 1,456 members of the general public about their experiences using a major home insurance provider.
Halifax scored 76%, placing it 6th out of 21 home insurers. It scored four stars for its 'speed of dealing with a claim', and three stars for how it 'communicated about the progress of claims'.
Find out how it compared to other insurers on or guide making a home insurance claim.
Who underwrites Halifax home insurance?
Halifax's home insurance is underwritten by Lloyds Bank General Insurance Ltd.
Its legal expenses cover is underwritten but DAS Legal Expenses Insurance Company Limited and the home emergency cover is underwritten by Royal & Sun Alliance.
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