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🏠 '''Building insurance''' — also known as buildings insurance or property insurance on the structure — is coverage that protects the physical structure of a property against damage or destruction from perils such as fire, storm, flood, subsidence, and vandalism. Within the broader [[Definition:Property insurance | property insurance]] market, building insurance is one of the most widely purchased products globally, spanning residential homeowner policies, commercial property programs, and large industrial risk placements, with coverage terms and regulatory requirements varying significantly across jurisdictions.

⚙️ A building insurance policy typically covers the permanent structure itself — walls, roof, floors, built-in fixtures, and sometimes boundary walls, gates, and outbuildings — on either a [[Definition:Replacement cost | replacement cost]] or [[Definition:Actual cash value | actual cash value]] basis. The [[Definition:Sum insured | sum insured]] should reflect the full cost of rebuilding the property, not its market value, a distinction that is a frequent source of [[Definition:Underinsurance | underinsurance]]. Perils covered depend on whether the policy is written on a [[Definition:Named perils | named perils]] or [[Definition:All-risks | all-risks]] (open perils) basis. In the United Kingdom, building insurance is effectively required for any property with a [[Definition:Mortgage | mortgage]], as lenders mandate it to protect their collateral. Similar lender requirements exist in the United States, Australia, and many Asian markets, though the specific perils included — particularly [[Definition:Flood insurance | flood]] and [[Definition:Earthquake insurance | earthquake]] coverage — differ based on local [[Definition:Catastrophe risk | catastrophe exposure]] and the availability of government-backed insurance schemes such as the U.S. [[Definition:National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) | National Flood Insurance Program]] or Japan's earthquake insurance pool.

🔍 Despite being a mature and seemingly straightforward product, building insurance presents meaningful challenges for insurers. Accurate [[Definition:Risk assessment | risk assessment]] requires reliable data on construction type, location, building age, and exposure to natural perils — data that [[Definition:Insurtech | insurtech]] firms are increasingly enhancing through aerial imagery, [[Definition:Geospatial analytics | geospatial analytics]], and [[Definition:Internet of things (IoT) | IoT]] sensors for water leak and fire detection. [[Definition:Climate change | Climate change]] is reshaping the risk landscape for building insurance globally, as rising frequencies of severe weather events, wildfire, and flood alter [[Definition:Loss experience | loss experience]] and force carriers to reprice or restrict coverage in high-exposure areas. For commercial and industrial buildings, coverage often forms part of a broader [[Definition:Commercial property insurance | commercial property]] or [[Definition:Package policy | package policy]], and may be supplemented by [[Definition:Business interruption insurance | business interruption]] coverage to address the income loss that follows structural damage.

'''Related concepts:'''
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Definition:Property insurance]]
* [[Definition:Replacement cost]]
* [[Definition:Sum insured]]
* [[Definition:Flood insurance]]
* [[Definition:Homeowner's insurance]]
* [[Definition:Underinsurance]]
{{Div col end}}

Definition:Building insurance - Revision history

PlumBot: Bot: Creating new article from JSON