HSBC home insurance review

HSBC has UK-based call centres and offers a range of products from specialist high-value home insurance to pet cover. HSBC's home insurance is underwritten by Aviva.

What you need to know about HSBC's home insurance:

• HSBC doesn't charge interest to customers paying in instalments
• There are no policy renewal fees
• Policies have a standard excess of £100

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Home And Mobile Insurance

HSBC 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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HSBC’s home insurance policy: is it good or bad?

We analyse and rate 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.

Initially, we score all of the product elements out of five, reflecting how competitive each provider is in this area compared to other insurers. Weightings are then applied to the higher and lower element scores to enhance/reduce their impact in the overall product score.

Table last updated in September 2018. Next updated in February 2019. 

Most important policy elementsSecondary policy elementsOther policy elements

Policy elements	Details	Rating	Area covered
Interest charged on payment by installments (APR)		5 out of 5	Buildings and contents
Renewal fee (£)		5 out of 5	Buildings and contents
Home emergency cover - standard, optional, not covered?		3 out of 5	Buildings and contents
Home emergency cover (£)		3 out of 5	Buildings and contents
Owner's / Occupier's liability (£)		3 out of 5	Buildings and contents
Accidental damage cover - standard, optional, not covered?		3 out of 5	Buildings and contents
Subsidence - standard, optional, not covered?		5 out of 5	Buildings only
Alternative accommodation (£)		4 out of 5	Buildings only
Burst pipes - standard, optional, not covered?		5 out of 5	Buildings only
Blockage of sewer pipe - standard, optional, not covered?		5 out of 5	Buildings only
Single item limit for valuables - max limit (£)		5 out of 5	Contents only
Contents in the open - within home boundary i.e. garden (£)		2 out of 5	Contents only
Contents in outbuildings - including garages (£)		5 out of 5	Contents only
Theft from outbuildings (£)		3 out of 5	Contents only
Personal Possessions - standard, optional, not covered?		3 out of 5	Contents only
Personal Possessions limit within a car (£)		2 out of 5	Contents only
Pedal cycles - standard, optional, not covered?		3 out of 5	Contents only
Mobile phones - standard, optional, not covered?		3 out of 5	Contents only
Does mobile phone cover include calls?		3 out of 5	Contents only

Policy element	Details	Rating	Area covered
Insurer pays switching fees? (£)			Buildings and contents
Adjustment fee (£)			Buildings and contents
Cancellation fee (£)			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
Pedal cycle away from home (£)			Contents only
TV or AV equipment accidental damage - standard, optional, not covered?			Contents only
Is money covered - 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