M&S Bank home insurance review

For over 30 years, M&S Bank has offered financial services to UK households. It offers a range of financial products including home insurance, mortgages, savings accounts and credit cards.

M&S Bank is owned by the HSBC Group, which also owns well-known brands like HSBC and First Direct, and its home insurance is underwritten by Aviva Insurance Limited.

• Read our reviews of all the insurers who took part in our home insurance analysis

Does M&S Bank offer the best home insurance?

Here's how M&S Bank scored in our latest home insurance survey:

Home And Mobile Insurance

M&S Bank 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 48 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 67 features of its cover to calculate the policy score.

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£1 for first month then £12.75/month unless cancelled

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

M&S Bank Standard home insurance policy: is it good or bad?

We've rated hundreds of policy details and picked out the best and worst elements of this cover.

Members can log in to read our full policy analysis. If you're not already a member, you can sign up to a one month trial of Which? Money for just £1 to access this review and thousands of others.

In detail: every part of M&S Bank's Standard home insurance rated

Buildings coverContents coverAdditional coverExcesses & no claims discount (NCD)Payment, fees and admin

Weighting	Policy element	Details	Rating
Most important	Maximum sum insured (£)
Most important	Alternative accommodation (£)
Most important	Owner's / Occupier's liability (£)
Most important	Repairs guarantee
Other	Unoccupancy period
Most important	Trace and access  (£)
Most important	Burst pipes - included?
Most important	Blockage of sewer pipe - included?
Secondary	Gradual build-up of groundwater - included?
Secondary	Subsidence - included?
Secondary	Damage to underground services - included?
Secondary	Flood and storm damage - included?
Secondary	Flood and storm damage to outbuildings - included?
Secondary	Storm damage to fences - included?
Other	Theft of keys - included?
Secondary	Theft of keys (£)
Other	Loss of keys - included?
Secondary	Loss of keys (£)

Weighting	Policy element	Details	Rating
Most important	Maximum sum insured (£)
Most important	Alternative accommodation (£)
Most important	Owner's / Occupier's liability (£)
Other	Unoccupancy period
Other	Matching sets cover - included?
Other	Damage by domestic pets covered?
Most important	Single item limit for valuables - max limit (£)
Most important	Contents in the open - within home boundary i.e. garden (£)
Most important	Contents in outbuildings - including garages (£)
Most important	Theft from outbuildings (£)
Secondary	Gradual build-up of groundwater - included?
Other	Garden cover - included?
Other	Garden contents cover - plants (£)
Secondary	Money in the home (£)
Secondary	Money away from the home (£)
Secondary	Credit cards in the home (£)
Secondary	Credit cards away from the home (£)
Secondary	Digital information in the home (£)
Secondary	Items temporarily removed from home (£)
Other	Business / Office equipment (£)
Other	Freezer contents (£)
Other	Guests belongings (£)
Other	Student contents (£)
Other	Nursing home contents (£)
Other	Moving house cover  - included?
Other	Theft of keys - included?
Secondary	Theft of keys (£)
Other	Loss of keys - included?
Secondary	Loss of keys (£)

Weighting	Policy element	Details	Rating	Area covered
Most important	Accidental damage cover - included?	Optional extra with some cover as standard
Most important	Home emergency cover - included?	Optional extra
Secondary	Home emergency - limit per call-out (£)	£1,000
Other	Home emergency - emergency accommodation	£1,000
Most important	Boiler cover - included?	Optional extra (home emergency)
Secondary	Boiler repair (£)	£1,000
Secondary	Boiler replacement (£)	£500
Other	Boiler covered if not annually serviced?	Yes
Secondary	Legal expenses cover - included?	Optional extra
Secondary	Legal expenses cover (£)	£50,000
Most important	Personal possessions cover - included?	Optional extra
Most important	Personal possessions cover - maximum sum insured (£)	£25,000
Most important	Personal possessions away from home - single item limit (£)	£10,000
Most important	Personal Possessions limit within a car (£)	Up to £25,000
Most important	Mobile phones (away from home) - included?	Optional extra (personal possessions)
Secondary	Mobile phones away from home (£)	Up to £25,000
Other	Unspecified bicycles away from home - included?	Optional extra
Other	Specified bicycle away from home (£)	Not covered

Weighting	Policy element	Details	Rating	Area covered
Most important	Standard level of excess			Buildings
Most important	Standard level of excess			Contents
Most important	Escape of Water excess			Buildings
Most important	Escape of Water excess			Contents
Secondary	Subsidence excess			Buildings
Secondary	Personal possessions excess			Contents
Secondary	Replacement locks and keys excess			Buildings and contents
Most important	Is NCD offered?			Buildings and contents
Other	NCD protection - included?			Buildings and contents
Other	NCD protection claims (number per year)			Buildings and contents

Weighting	Policy element	Details	Rating	Area covered
Most important	Interest charged on payment by instalments (APR)			Buildings and contents
Most important	Renewal Fee			Buildings and contents
Secondary	Adjustment Fee			Buildings and contents
Secondary	Duplicate Documents Fee			Buildings and contents
Secondary	Cancellation fee within cooling off period			Buildings and contents
Secondary	Cancellation fee after cooling off period			Buildings and contents
Secondary	Payment Default Fee			Buildings and contents
Other	Emergency helpline			Buildings and contents
Other	Claims helpline			Buildings and contents
Other	Legal advice helpline			Buildings and contents
Other	Discount for buying buildings and contents insurance?			Buildings and contents
Secondary	Insurer pays switching fees			Buildings and contents
Other	Notice if insurer cancels			Buildings and contents

Table last updated in March 2020. Next update in February 2021.

Does M&S Bank offer different levels of home insurance cover?

M&S Bank also offers Premier home insurance, which features a higher level of cover,

To see how M&S Bank's home insurance compares to other policies check out our guide on the best and worst home insurance.

How did customers rate M&S Bank's home insurance

As well as looking at how M&S Bank's home insurance policy stacks up against others, we've also analysed how customers who have recently made a claim feel about it too.

Members can log in to see our range of customer service star ratings and read about individual customers' experiences. If you're not already a member, you can sign up to a one month trial of Which? Money for just £1 to access this review and thousands of others.

How M&S Bank's home insurance scored for seven elements of customer satisfaction

Customer satisfaction element	Which? customer rating
Application process
Clarity of policy
Dealing with queries
Ease of managing your policy online
Treatment of longstanding customers
Dealing with complaints
Value for money

Table last updated in March 2020. Next update in February 2021.

"-' represents where we have insufficient sample size (less than 30) to generate a star rating

What is M&S Bank's claims number?

If you need to make a claim with M&S Bank home insurance call one of the following numbers, depending on if your policy number begins with:

• MHO: 0800 051 2556 or claim online
• 830: 0800 111 4901

When you call, you'll be asked for your policy number details about your claim such as what happened, when and how much you're claiming for. 

Find out more about claiming successfully in our guide to making a home insurance claim.

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