Review: M&S Home Insurance

In Summary

Marks & Spencer’s home insurance offers Standard and Premier policies for buildings, contents or combined cover.

M&S's policies have high cover levels with unlimited limits for buildings, contents, bicycles at home and garden contents on its Premier policy. Both Standard and Premier received 5 stars for the quality of their cover from Fairer Finance and Defaqto in 2018.

You can get a home insurance quote at the M&S website.

See if M&S features in our list of the best home insurance companies.

Since opening its first store in 1884, Marks & Spencer has become one of the UK’s most widely recognised high street names. In recent decades it has widened its services beyond retail, opening M&S bank in 1985. Alongside home insurance, the retailer offers cover for cars, pets and travel, plus a number of banking services.

Overview of the cover provided by M&S home policies

M&S Home Insurance offers two policies – Standard and Premium – both are underwritten by Aviva Insurance Limited, which is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Standard cover has a total buildings limit of £1m and total contents limit of £100,000. There's a £10,000 limit for individual valuable items and a £25,000 total valuable limit. It's possible to extend contents cover away from home up to £10,000 for each item and bikes worth between £250 and £10,000 can be covered away from home for an additional premium.

The excess for most claims on a Standard policy will be £100 but it can be higher than that for issues such as escape of water or subsidence.

M&S Bank's Premier has unlimited limits for most claims. However, there is a £500 limit for money in your home, £15,000 for single items and a £50,000 total specified valuables limit. Accidental damage is included as standard and most claims have a £100 excess.

Get a quote from M&S here.

How much does home insurance from M&S cost?

Your premium will depend on a number of factors, such as the location and size of your home, the value of the contents within it, and how comprehensive you wish your cover to be.

However, as a guideline, M&S’ Standard protection is cheaper than its Premium policy, due to its limited accidental damage cover and lower policy limits.

Get a quote for home insurance at the M&S website.

To reduce the cost of your cover you can raise the excess from the standard £100 for buildings and £100 for contents – although the excess for heave, landslip and subsidence is fixed at £1,000. However, it is important to remember with both the extent of policy cover and the excess levels, that you should prioritise level of cover and affordability in the event of a claim, rather than purely the up-front policy price.

Because M&S's cover levels are higher than some other companies its prices may also seem higher. But remember, with insurance you get what you pay for.

Find out about the average cost of home insurance.

Expert reviews of M&S Bank home insurance

Fairer Finance rated M&S's home insurance customer experience 6th out of 47 companies in Spring 2018 and awarded it a gold ribbon.

Its Standard and Premier policies are rated 5 stars by Fairer Finance and Defaqto for the comprehensivness of their cover.

Other home insurance reviews

It’s not just M&S home insurance we’re reviewing; this article is part of a series of home insurance reviews, bringing you critical information on each policy. Check out the links below to compare Marks & Spencer’s offering with other home insurance providers.