AA

First formed in 1905 by a group of motoring enthusiasts keen to help fellow motorists avoid police speed traps, the AA (formerly known as the ‘Automobile Association’) has, now more than 100 years on, grown to become the UK’s largest breakdown cover organisation with more than 14 million members.

With the understanding that “anything can happen”, the organisation has expanded its roadside rescue services to include car insurance, travel guides, campsite guides, savings accounts, personal loans, credit cards, and home insurance.

Who underwrites AA home insurance?

The AA has several insurers on their insurance panel. The underwriter for your home insurance will appear on your home insurance quote and policy documents.

AA’s optional extras – Home Emergency Cover, Home Emergency Response, and Home Legal Expenses – are underwritten by Acromas Insurance Company Limited.

Types of home insurance available with AA

AA offers three types of home insurance:

• Buildings insurance
• Contents insurance
• Combined buildings and contents insurance

These insurance types are available across two tiers: Home Insurance (standard) and Home Insurance Plus (Premium).

The table below highlights what each type of AA’s policies cover.

Policy	Policy Type	Buildings maximum sum insured	Contents maximum sum insured
AA Home Insurance	Buildings	Unlimited for homes worth up to £1.5 million	N/A
AA Home Insurance Plus	Contents	N/A	Up to £100,000*
AA Home Insurance	Buildings	Unlimited	N/A
AA Home Insurance Plus	Contents	N/A	Unlimited

What does AA buildings home insurance offer as standard?

AA’s buildings cover is designed to give you peace of mind should the worst happen to your property.

Whether you opt for AA’s standard Home Insurance policy or their Home Insurance Plus policy will depend on your individual needs.

The table below is a side-by-side comparison of what AA’s buildings policies have to offer.

Cover	AA Home Insurance (Buildings)	AA Home Insurance Plus (Buildings)
Rebuilding of your home because of fire, storm, flood, theft, escape of water and subsidence	Unlimited for homes worth up to £1.5 million	Unlimited
Alternative accommodation	Up to £45,000	Up to £50,000
Replacement lock and keys	£1,000	Unlimited
Trace and access to the source of a leak for escape of water or oil	£5,000	£10,000
Accidental Damage Cover	Available as an optional extra	Included
Damage to trees, shrubs, plants and lawn caused by fire, ambulance or police services while attending an emergency at your home	£1,000	£1,000
Damage to your property caused by fire ambulance or police services because of forced entry at your property due to an emergency	£1,000	£1,000

What does AA contents home insurance offer as standard?

The items within your property is what helps make your house a home. Protecting these belongings with contents insurance can help give you peace of mind and ensure your personal possessions can be replaced should the worst happen.

The table below is a side-by-side comparison of what AA’s Home Insurance and Home Insurance Plus Contents policies have to offer.

Cover	AA Home Insurance (Contents)	AA Home Insurance Plus (Contents)
Cover for contents	£45,000 – £100,000	Unlimited
Single item limit	£1,500	£5,000
Freezer food	£500	£1,000
Theft of contents from garages or outbuildings	£3,000	£7,500
Home office equipment	£5,000	£10,000
Home Legal expenses cover	Available as optional extra	Included
Accidental damage protection	Available as optional extra	Included

Optional extras

Both AA’s buildings and contents home insurance options are designed to include a range of comprehensive cover as standard. But for added flexibility, AA also offers a range of optional extras to suit your individual needs.

Some of these optional extras are included with the Home Insurance Plus option as standard. However, if you opt for AA’s standard cover and are finding you require at least one of these add-ons, it may be more cost effective to choose the Home Insurance Plus option. Any additional extras you add into your policy will increase the cost of your monthly or annual premiums.

Legal expenses cover

Provides cover of up to £100,000 to pursue legal claims such as contract disputes and employment tribunals. Also provides access to a 24-hour legal advice helpline.

Home emergency cover

Cover of up to £500 (including VAT) for call out, labour, parts, and materials to cover an emergency service following an insured event.

Excess and no-claims discount

Although we take out home insurance with the hope that we’ll never need to use it, there may be times when it is unavoidable. If you do need to make a claim through your home insurance, you’ll need to pay out a minimum fee, known as an excess. Excess is usually split into compulsory excess and voluntary excess.

Compulsory excess, also known as fixed excess, is determined by your home insurance provider and is the amount you must pay when making a claim.

Voluntary excess, on the other hand, is an amount paid set by you, the policyholder, and is intended to be what you can afford to contribute if you need to make a claim. The amount you choose to pay as voluntary excess will be in addition to the amount you pay for compulsory excess.

For their home insurance policies, AA has the minimum compulsory excess of £100 for all claims, except for the following: –

• Escape of water compulsory excess: £250
• Subsidence, ground heave, or landslip compulsory excess: £1,000.

Why should I pay voluntary excess?

The purpose of voluntary excess is that the more you can contribute towards a claim, the less your premiums will be.

No-claims discount

Some home insurance providers will offer an incentive to policyholders whereby if no claim is made for 12 months, a discount on premium will be offered the following year at renewal. This is known as a ‘no claims discount’ and can accumulate for every year a claim isn’t made, typically for up to five years.

Tesco does not explicitly state whether it offers a no claims discount for its home insurance.

Defaqto rating

Both AA’s Home Insurance and Home Insurance Plus policies were given a 4-star rating by Defaqto for 2023.