Buildings insurance is of vital importance – for example, if your house burnt down do you have the money to cover your losses? Mortgage providers insist that you have building insurance so that in the event of a disaster it can be repaired or rebuilt, as lenders don’t want to be left without security for their loan.

A buildings insurance policy should cover funds to rebuild your home in the event of it being totally destroyed or damaged to the point that complete rebuilding is necessary. Some buildings insurance policies only cover market value, so be sure to check. The buildings policy could also cover against damage caused by events beyond your control including:

Storm and flood damage
Burst pipes and other incidents of water leakage
Fire, smoke and explosions
Subsidence
Vandalism or third party damage

The buildings insurance policy could also provide you with alternative accommodation if your home is uninhabitable. Be sure to not simply opt for the cheapest building insurance quote available and think about your needs.

As well as the structure, buildings insurance also covers permanent fixtures and fittings including baths, toilets and fitted kitchens, bedroom cupboards and interior decorations. The test is whether or not the fixture can be removed and taken to a new home, for example fitted cabinets. Buildings insurance policies will also usually cover outbuildings such as garages, greenhouses and garden sheds but might not cover boundary walls, fences, gates, paths, drives and swimming pools.

For landlords, building insurance is crucial, as it is for all homeowners. For tenants, building insurance is usually covered by the landlord and only contents insurance needs to be considered.

Why is home insurance necessary?
It’s easy to think that bad things happen to other people and not ourselves, but the facts suggest that isn’t a risk we can afford to take. In the UK, one in three of us will get burgled at some point in our lives yet about a quarter of households are not protected by any form of home insurance. With other unfortunate occurrences such as flood or storm damage, fire and more, threatening our homes and their contents, by not having household insurance we are leaving ourselves open to serious financial loss.
Home insurance can now offer something for everyone with home insurance for homeowners, tenants and landlords. Increasingly, mortgage lenders will insist that you have buildings insurance to obtain a mortgage.

Household insurers will need a lot of information including the construction date and materials for the building, and different insurers might not insure unusual properties such as prefabricated buildings and thatched cottages. Home Insurers also need to know about the local lie of the land to assess the flood-risk.


Buildings insurance – types of cover
The most important factor when insuring your property is to cover the full rebuilding cost and not the market value. The land under your house is not under threat from theft, storms and fire and as the land is normally about a third of the total property value it is important to make sure you cover rebuilding costs rather than market value. It can often prove less costly to rebuild your house from scratch than to buy another, as the land it sits on will usually remain unscathed.

Remember, the same type of house in a slightly different area can have a lower market value than another but yet cost just the same to rebuild in the event of a fire, etc. Therefore, cover your house against the rebuilding cost, and not against its market value for building insurance purposes.

Home insurance comes in two forms - buildings and contents insurance. Buildings insurance is compulsory - mortgage lenders, being a fearful lot, won't part with the necessary unless they can protect that precious asset that you hope to make home.

Contents insurance, on the other hand, is entirely up to yourself for the simple reason that your mortgage lender will not be too put out if your new DVD player gets nicked by a burglar.
Both types of insurance, buildings insurance and contents insurance, are advisable, though human nature being what it is, a third of us don't bother to insure our personal possessions. This despite the fact that the average cost of contents insurance is only £5 to £10 a month. Here's a run through the one you'll have to buy - buildings insurance; what it covers and what to consider when buying it.

Buildings Insurance: What's Covered
As the name suggests, buildings insurance covers the structure of your home together with its fixtures and fittings such as baths and toilets, fitted kitchens, bedroom cupboards, and interior decorations.
According to the Association of British Insurers, most buildings insurance policies will cover you against fire, lightning, explosions, earthquakes, damage due to riot or malicious persons, storm and flood damage, aircraft or objects falling from them, subsidence, heave or landslip, vehicles or animals colliding with your home, collapsing aerials, and leakage from water tanks, pipes or heating installations.

Building insurance policies usually extend to include outbuildings such as garages, greenhouses and garden sheds. However, boundary walls, fences, gates, paths, drives and swimming pools may not be covered - you need to check the policy if you need cover for these areas.

Most buildings policies also offer cover for a range of other issues - such as paying the cost for alternative accommodation if your home becomes uninhabitable, damage to underground pipes and cables supplying gas, electricity, oil, water, or sewage, your liability for damaging someone else's property and glass in doors, windows and skylights.

Issues to Consider when buying your buildings insurance
There are limits (excess) and exclusions to every buildings insurance policy so it's important to go through it carefully. Excess is the amount of money you have to pay towards the cost of each claim, exclusions are eventualities not covered by the buildings policy.

Excesses vary in amount. They may apply only to certain types of claim or they may apply to all claims - your buildings insurance policy will tell you. As far as buildings policies go, subsidence generally carries the largest excess - usually up to £1,000. Flooding is also an issue here - live in a high-risk area and you could be facing high premiums and high excess.
On the exclusions front, your household insurer won't fork out if your house is damaged in a war, or doused with radioactive contamination from nuclear fuel or nuclear waste - but if this happens you'll probably be past caring. Your buildings policy will also probably exclude more mundane matters such as damage by storms or floods to gates and fences.

The final E to consider is Extensions. Cough up a larger premium and your home insurer will be delighted to cover you for eventualities not contained in the standard buildings insurance policy, such as accidental damage you cause to the building or flood damage to that beloved fence post in the back garden. Extra cover can range from £20-£100 a year depending on what you want.
Rebuilding and Reviewing

The first thing to bear in mind when buying buildings insurance is that the cover is supposed to pay for the cost of rebuilding your house. This is not the same as the market value of your house and it can be a tricky thing to calculate.

Many home insurance companies give rough guides to the level of insurance needed for modern homes and quite a few offer unlimited cover - this means your home is automatically covered for the full cost of rebuilding. Your lender should also be able to help you come up with the correct figure for rebuilding for the purposes of your buildings insurance.

If you want to do it yourself, the Association of British Insurers provides a useful leaflet with instructions on how to proceed. Their site also has an online calculator to help you work out rebuilding costs. Remember to add the cost of surveyors' fees, architects' fees and demolition fees to the rebuilding cost - the last thing you want is to be under-insured.

You can also instruct a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors to prepare a professional Rebuilding Cost Assessment for insurance purposes - this is especially advisable for older houses, non-estate houses and houses of unusual or complex design (eg. stone built or thatched).
And whatever buildings insurance cover you have, it's important to keep it up to date. If you add an extension this will change the value of the property and you'll need to inform your household insurer and have your buildings insurance cover reviewed.

Buying Buildings Insurance
Because your mortgage lender will not give you a loan without buildings insurance, many offer tie-in deals to borrowers. You are not obliged to take up these deals though in many cases you will be charged a "switching fee" if you arrange cover independently.

Subsidence
Recent research from one of the main buildings insurance providers revealed that 22% of the mortgage market is controlled by lenders who impose such fees, which typically range from £25-£45. However, the research also showed that buildings cover arranged through a mortgage provider can often cost up to 30 per cent more than buildings insurance cover bought elsewhere, so the fee may be worth it - some insurers will even reimburse the fee when you switch (up to £25).

Buildings Insurance is usually offered in two forms - sum assured and bedroom rated. The first (sum assured buildings insurance) calculates the premium based on the rebuilding cost, the second (bedroom rated buildings insurance) calculates the rebuilding cost according to the number of bedrooms - prices may vary so it's worth getting quotes for both.
Recent research revealed that the average cost of buildings insurance cover in the UK is £157, but this varies massively depending on postcode. In London the average is £232 a year, but Kilburn homeowners pay £341 while resident of Twickenham fork out just £168.
Buildings insurance costs vary according to local construction standards, and the cost and availability of labour and materials. Regional crime rates also have an impact, as do geological factors such as the probability of subsidence. Flooding, it need hardly be added, is also a serious consideration.

Buildings insurance explained
Buildings insurance will protect the structure of your home, but not its contents
When insuring your home, you normally need two policies: one for the building itself and another for its contents (see contents insurance).
Buildings insurance covers the structure of your home (walls, windows, roof etc) as well as permanent fixtures and fittings (such as baths, toilets and fitted kitchens).
Buildings insurance generally covers damage due to fire, lightning, explosion or earthquake, theft (or attempted theft), riots or vandalism, storms or flooding, subsidence, falling trees, moving objects (such as a car hitting your home) and escaping or leaking water or oil.
If you have a mortgage, your lender will insist you take out buildings insurance. If you're a tenant, it’s down to your landlord to arrange the insurance for buildings. In other cases, buildings insurance is not compulsory, but you'd be unwise to do without it.

Flooding
You may find it buildings insurance hard to get cover if you live in an area repeatedly affected by flooding. However, if there are plans to improve flood defences in your area, your existing household insurer should continue to offer you buildings insurance.

Subsidence
Damage to your property due to subsidence is usually covered, although there's often a larger excess (the first amount of any claim you have to meet) for this type of claim – normally £1,000 or more. However, buildings policies usually only cover subsidence damage to the house itself.
Patios, garden walls, driveways and swimming pools aren't usually covered, unless your house is damaged at the same time. Storm damage to gates, fences and boundary walls is normally not covered either.

Accidental damage
Accidental damage cover on a buildings insurance policy protects against damage you cause to your building or fixtures and fittings.
Standard buildings insurance policies include some limited cover, for example for accidental damage to glass in doors, windows and skylights, and damage to bathroom fittings such as baths and sinks.

Other cover
Buildings insurance usually also covers:
Your legal liability as owner of the property, such as liability for damage caused to someone else's property
Damage to underground cables that supply gas or electricity, or pipes that supply oil, water, or sewage
You can pay extra for your buildings insurance to extend accidental damage cover to a wider range of problems. Typically this costs between £20 and £100 a year on top of your premium.
Calculating the level of buildings insurance cover

You can choose the level of buildings cover you need in one of two ways; sum-insured buildings insurance or bedroom-rated buildings insurance.
With a sum-insured buildings insurance policy, you work out how much cover you need and the insurer calculates your premium on that basis. A bedroom-rated buildings policy does away with the need to calculate exact costs, and instead is based on the number of bedrooms your home has (subject to maximum amounts of cover).

It's not always obvious which type offers the best value, so we suggest you get quotes for both before deciding.
The amount of buildings insurance cover you need is the cost of rebuilding your home, which should include the cost of demolition (if needed), clearing the site, and architects' and builders' fees.
The rebuilding cost is not the same as the market value of your home (how much you would get for it if you sold it). To help calculate the rebuilding cost, the Association of British Insurers has an online calculator.
If your home is not of 'standard construction' (which usually means brick walls with a tile roof), you may need to ask a chartered surveyor to prepare a valuation for insurance purposes. You can find one at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Buildings insurance guide
Home insurance may sound desperately dull, but the increasing incidence of extreme weather conditions means that it is more important than ever to ensure that your property is properly covered.
Buildings insurance protects you against the cost of damage to the structure of your home from the elements and is mandatory if your property is mortgaged. Home contents insurance, by contrast, is entirely voluntary, but the two insurances are often bought together because some insurers offer discounts if you take out both buildings and contents insurance policies together.

Arranging buildings insurance is normally the responsibility of the person who owns the property, so if you live in a leasehold property, it is the responsibility of the freeholder to arrange buildings insurance and the cost will be passed onto the leaseholders via a service charge.
In flats and maisonettes, each apartment is normally insured under a single block buildings policy, which also covers the ‘common parts,’ such as the hallway, stairways and lifts.

What does buildings insurance cover?
Buildings insurance covers the cost of rebuilding or repairing damage to your property, other than that arising through wear and tear. The buildings insurance policy will cover the building’s structure, including permanent fixtures and fittings such as built-in kitchen units and appliances, bathroom suites and toilets and built-in cupboards.
Buildings Cover may extend to outbuildings (such as garages and greenhouses). Boundary walls, fences, gates, drives, paths and swimming pools may be covered for an extra premium, depending on the insurance policy terms and conditions.
The building should be insured for its full rebuilding cost, not the market value of the property. If you underinsure, your home insurer will reduce your claim proportionately.

What's covered?
The common risks covered are damage to, and destruction of, the property as a result of:
Fire, storm and flood, lightning, explosion and earthquake; subsidence, heave and landslip; riot and vandalism, theft; aircraft (collision or fallout), falling trees, breaking or collapsing aerials, impact by animals and vehicles; water leakage from pipes or tanks and oil leakage from heating installations.
Buildings Insurance policies may also cover:
liability for damage to individuals and/or their property, up to a given limit (typically £1m);
the cost of alternative accommodation in the event that you have to leave your home while it is being rebuilt or repaired, up to a reasonable level;
accidental damage to underground water, gas and sewage pipes and electrical cables;
replacement of glass in windows, doors and skylights.
Remember to inform your household insurer if your home is used for business purposes, as this could increase the risk (particularly if you keep certain materials and equipment on the premises).
Mitigating your losses
Policyholders are required to keep losses to a minimum by taking pre-emptive action to contain or prevent damage. Thus, if you spot signs of subsidence for example, you should report this to your buildings insurer immediately so that the situation can be assessed and the problem can be fixed at minimum cost.
Don't skimp on home repair costs. Cheap skate repairs can result in more serious problems later, triggering expensive claims (and the possible loss of your no claims bonus).

Excess and exclusions
Certain losses are not covered or are only partially reimbursable on a buildings insurance policy. The policyholder has to meet some of the cost of each claim, known as the ‘excess’ (typically the first £100 of each and every claim), which serves to keep policy premiums down and to deter trivial claims.
Damage caused by subsidence, heave and landslip is usually subject to a higher level of excess, typically around £1,000.
Common exclusions on a buildings insurance policy are losses arising out of:
war
frost damage
sonic bangs
radioactive contamination from nuclear fuel or waste.
Cover against damage caused by acts of terrorism is a recent exclusion, although this can be added through payment of an additional premium on some buildings policies.
Calculating the sum assured
You can commission a 'rebuilding cost assessment' prepared by a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. This is advisable if your property has unique features (for instance, historic or listed buildings which will have to rebuilt in their original style), is constructed from special materials, and is more than two storeys high and/or has a basement or cellar.
It is possible to do the calculation yourself for a standard dwelling, although you may find that you have to call in a local architect or building firm to assess the cost per meter of rebuilding, for which you are highly likely to incur a fee.
Alternatively, the Association of British Insurers has an online cost calculator and more information on how to calculate the rebuilding cost of a property at: http://abi.bcis.co.uk
Rebuilding costs depend on the floor area of the structure (including outbuildings, walls, fences and any other external structures), the type and age of the dwelling and the region in which it is located (for instance, building costs vary considerably according to area), as well as fixtures and fittings that are part of the fabric of the building.
Don't forget to add in the cost of site clearance, architect and engineers' fees, and emergency accommodation.
The sum assured for your buildings insurance policy needs to be adjusted periodically in order to reflect increases in building costs. Some buildings insurance policies will automatically index your cover each year.
However, the home insurer will not be aware of any home improvements undertaken (for example, a conservatory, a loft extension, new luxury fitted kitchen units) unless you report them, so you may well be yourself underinsured if you fail to do so.

Contents Insurance

If you’re looking to take out home contents insurance you might want to consider the valuables within your home. Home contents insurance is optional but with the threat of burglaries and fire, searching for cheap contents insurance that covers your needs makes sense.
Household contents insurance gives protection to anything that is not a fixed part of your home, for example your appliances, electronic goods, furniture and clothing. Most home contents insurance policies will even cover the contents of your fridge and freezer. Home contents insurance policies are advisable for homeowners and tenants while landlord contents insurance can be limited if the property is let unfurnished or part furnished.
The cheapest contents insurance available is indemnity insurance, which will replace, for example, a five-year-old carpet with one of the same age. A more expensive option for contents insurance is the ‘new for old’ policy that replaces the old carpet with a brand new one.
Your home contents insurance could also include cover for some items you take away from the home such as bicycles or prams and even the contents of your handbag. Clothing items, watches and mobile phones can also be covered along with sports equipment – though this is not usually covered when it is in use. The key is to check your home contents insurance policy and never assume that items are covered.

Garden plants are increasingly covered in household contents insurance policies – treat your garden as another room and add up the costs of replacements. High value items, such as those more than £1,000 in value, will generally have to be considered separately from your contents policy.
Similarly to building insurance, contents insurance offers protection against various perils including: Fires, Storms, flooding, Explosions, Theft and vandalism.
Contents policies can also include cover in the event of an injury in your home. Furthermore, some contents insurance policies would also cover you for legal liability if someone were injured in your home due to your negligence or lack of upkeep of the property.

Contents insurance – types of cover
It’s vital to avoid under insuring the contents of your home. Most policies will ask you to define a contents ‘sum insured’ – this will be the maximum your insurer will pay out. Under insuring can have drastic consequences because if, for example, the value of the contents of your home is £20,000 and you insure for £10,000 then you will effectively halve the value of your contents. So if you needed a new carpet valued at £2,000, your insurer would only pay £1,000. Be sure to calculate the correct amounts for all of the contents.
The best way to do this is to create a checklist of absolutely everything you have in and around your home. Be sure to include things you have made as well as anything that has been given to you because these things will need to be replaced too. Try to include an approximate date when the items were bought and include any receipts you might have. It’s a fairly lengthy process but well worth the effort to ensure that the contents are insured properly.
Also remember about the limit insurers could place on individual items, as it could be lower than some of your possessions. If this is the case you have three options:
Negotiate for the full value to be included.
Insure the item separately.
Break the item down into components of lower value where possible, for example: a camera can have a lens, the main body and peripheral equipment insured separately.
Follow the advice in our home insurance calculator section to evaluate the cost of the contents of your home.
There are a number of variables that can be considered with contents insurance.

Contents insurance – variable options
There are a number of add-on options available in addition to a standard contents insurance policy. These include:
New for old replacement cover – This replaces items with equivalent new versions at today’s prices.
All risks cover – Includes items taken outside your home. These items are usually specified individually, such as jewellery, mobile phones, etc.
Legal cover – This pays for court costs. There are a number of different policies available including:
Compensation for injuries – If you are in an accident that’s not your fault you could claim compensation.
Consumer disputes – Disputes from buying, holding or selling goods.
Disputes with neighbours – Such as new fences, trees blocking light, etc.
Freezer contents cover – Will pay for a fixed amount should the food in your fridge or freezer become inedible.
Sports equipment cover – Such as golf clubs, squash racquets. They will not usually be covered while in use.
Garden equipment cover – Protects against theft from a garden shed.
Additionally, an option to consider in your home contents policy is accidental damage cover, which is standard in a lot of contents insurance policies. This covers against DIY accidents, paint spillages, etc and is available in both building and contents insurance.

Make sure you examine exactly what your household contents insurance policy covers against. All levels of cover should include compensation against theft and fire. However, it could be important to make sure you are covered against storms and flooding, frozen pipes, subsidence and more. Also, if you have extended or plan to extend your property make sure your policy reflects the changes you make.

Contents insurance explained
Contents cover will protect against accidents as well as theft
Household contents insurance covers damage to the possessions in your home, as opposed to the home itself which comes under buildings insurance.
Home contents insurance typically covers damage which occurs due to fire, lightning, explosion or earthquake, theft (or attempted theft), riots or vandalism, storms or flooding, subsidence, falling trees, moving objects (such as a cars hitting your home) and escaping or leaking water or oil.

Contents insurance also usually covers:
your legal liability as occupier of the house, eg if a visitor has an accident and injures themselves
cost of accommodation and storage if you can't live in your home because of damage (e.g. fire, flooding etc)
some accidental damage to stereo equipment, TVs, computers, DVD players and any glass in furniture (e.g. a glass tabletop)
replacement keys and locks, and locksmith's fees if you lose or damage your keys
damage to TV and radio aerials, and satellite dishes
loss of food if a freezer breaks down
theft of cash from your home
contents of your outbuildings (although the amount of cover varies a lot from policy to policy and there may be lower limits for theft).
Optional extras which you may wish to include in your contents insurance policy:
Accidental damage
Standard contents insurance policies include some cover for accidental damage – eg to stereo equipment – but don't cover accidental damage to goods or furnishings.
For around £20-£100 extra, you can extend cover to include these items, which can be useful if you have young children. But if your household is less active, accidental damage cover might not be worth paying extra for.

Personal possessions cover
Personal possessions is another possible cover extension area. Sometimes called 'all risks' cover, upping your protection in this way guards against loss of your possessions away from home, eg a handbag or digital camera. However there are restrictions on what's covered, so check with the insurer so that you know what you are paying for.
Legal expenses
This covers the cost of legal proceedings if you need to bring action or defend a claim, as part of your contents insurance. It typically covers the legal expenses incurred in most personal injury, consumer, property and employment disputes, as well as for any award of the other party's legal costs.
A few insurers include this cover as standard when you buy house insurance, but most charge an additional premium for it.

Downloads insurance
New technology brings with it new concerns. If someone broke into your home and stole your mobile phone, laptop and iPod, would you be covered on your insurance policy for the cost of replacing your music, films, ringtones or software you'd downloaded? Just under half the insurers we surveyed now include cover for digital downloads as standard.

Exclusions
In some cases, there are limits on how much you can claim within your home contents insurance policy. For instance, it's difficult to claim the full cost of stolen cash or for all your frozen food if your freezer breaks down.

High-value items
There is usually a limit on the amount of cover for high-value items, such as jewellery or audio-visual equipment. If you have possessions of a particularly high value, check that they will be properly covered by any household contents insurance policy you're considering.
Some policies won't cover any liability arising from your business or trade if you are working from home.
Other common exclusions
Losses due to theft if you've let or sub-let your house, unless there are signs of forced entry.
Damage which occurs when the house is unoccupied for more than a certain number of days – such as pipes bursting.
Cost of replacing an entire set (of furniture or units, for example) if only part of the set is damaged. You’ll usually receive only the cost of replacing the damaged parts.
It's important to read the contents insurance policy carefully to make sure it provides the cover you need and that you understand your responsibilities (such as locking doors and windows when you leave the property).

Content Policy choices
There are several different types of contents insurance policy you can choose. It's important to go for the right one to make sure you don't end up out of pocket if you need to claim.
New-for-old vs indemnity
With new-for-old cover, the home contents insurer either pays the full cost of repairing damaged items or pays to replace them with equivalent new items if they're stolen or destroyed. Indemnity policies, on the other hand, deduct an amount for wear, tear and depreciation from any payout.
Although an indemnity policy might be cheaper than new-for-old cover, we don't recommend them, because they could leave you much worse off if you have a large claim.
Sum-insured vs bedroom-rated
You can choose the level of cover you need in one of two ways. A bedroom-rated contents insurance policy is based on the number of bedrooms your home has (often subject to a maximum amount of cover).
Alternatively, with a sum-insured policy, you work out how much cover you need, and the insurer calculates your premium on that basis. It's not always obvious which type offers the best value, so we suggest you get quotes for each before deciding.

Contents insurance guide
One in four households fails to insure the contents of their homes because unlike buildings insurance on mortgaged properties, contents insurance is voluntary.
But this could well be a false economy. 2007 has seen a record number of claims for storm and flood damage and anyone who has suffered from flooding must be ruing the day they omitted to buy cover. UK insurers expect to pay out at least £3bn in household insurance claims as a result of flooding in 2007 and the eventual bill could be even higher.
But contents insurance also pays out for losses due to theft or burglary and, for an extra premium, you can buy cover for accidental damage and your possessions while outside the home.

Difference between buildings and contents insurance
In order to distinguish between what is covered by a buildings insurance policy, and what is covered by a contents insurance policy, think of contents as being the items you would take with you if you moved home, the exception to this rule being fitted carpets which, although fixed, come under contents policies.

This means that your furniture, TV, stereo equipment and clothing will all be covered under your home contents policy, but your fitted kitchen and bathroom suite will be covered by your buildings insurance policy.
New for old and indemnity cover
You can insure contents one of two ways:
New-for-old
This means the household insurance company pays you the full cost of repairing the item, or replaces it with a brand new equivalent, if it cannot be repaired, is stolen or destroyed.
Sometimes, this will means that the replacement is superior to the old item (for instance where your PDA model is no longer manufactured and you receive an newer model. That said, not all items, such as clothing, can be insured on the new-for-old basis.
Indemnity
The home insurance company pays you in cash, but makes a deduction for wear and tear, and depreciation.
The sum assured
Calculating the appropriate level of contents cover involves nothing more sophisticated than going from room to room, itemising everything and assigning a replacement value to each item. This can be a hassle, so some household insurers make it easy for you by basing the level of cover on the number of rooms in your home, or offer standard contents insurance cover of, say, £30,000-£50,000 for all your contents.
However, if you have items of high value (such as paintings and antique furniture) you may find yourself under insured by this method, which means that your claim could be scaled down proportionately, in the event of a claim.

Most insurers will ask you to list individual items above a certain value (typically £1,500) and an extra premium will be charged for each item.
In any event, it is usually best to compile a proper inventory. Once you have recorded the value of your worldly goods on a spreadsheet, it should not be too difficult to keep it up to date by entering new purchases, removing items disposed of and amending valuations. It is also a good idea to keep receipts, valuations and photographs of valuable items.
Remember to keep a backup, preferably outside your home (for instance, in your office safe), just in case your records themselves are destroyed in a fire or flood.
Risks covered
The range of risks covered by a contents policy are similar to those covered by buildings insurance, except that they relate to moveable property within (and sometimes outside) the home.
These are: Fire, lightning, earthquake and explosion; storm and flood; internal water damage from tanks and pipes; oil damage from heating systems; theft and attempted theft; impact by aircraft, aerial devices vehicles and animals; falling trees or branches; riot and political disturbances, civil commotion and strikes; legal liabilities.
You can extend the contents cover to specific items that you take out of your home, such as sports equipment, clothing, laptop computers, cameras and jewellery, although you will have to pay an additional premium and there is likely to be a cover limit for each item.
You need to insure your personal possessions for their full value, or risk the likelihood that the home insurance company will scale down your claim proportionately. After all, it is not reasonable to expect the home insurer to carry the full risk if your premium only covers a proportion of the risk.

Excess and exclusions
The household insurance company will require you to meet part of your losses, which is called the policy ‘excess,’ so the higher the excess, the lower the premium.
Because of the nature of the risks to moveable property, the contents insurance company will require you to exercise care in the protection of your possessions, and may refuse to pay or reduce its payout where:
there is no forced entry to your property;
losses arise out of sub-letting;
losses arise where the premises are left unoccupied for longer than a pre agreed period of time (typically 30 consecutive days).
you fail to lock up valuables securely.
there has been failure to take reasonable measures to prevent your water pipes and central heating system from freezing up in winter.
Prevention is better than claim
You can obtain discounts on your premiums by:
installing a burglar alarm;
joining a neighbourhood watch scheme;
by being over a certain age (typically age 50);
installing high quality locks and grilles on windows and ground level doors; and
building up a no claims discount

Working from home
An increasing number of people work from home these days and a standard home contents insurance policy may not be sufficient to cover the risks associated with home working.
For example, you may have office equipment such as computers, laptops, faxed and photocopiers. Business data that you hold on your computer or in your filing cabinet may be at risk from a computer crash, fire, flood and other hazards.
You may store goods, samples and materials on the premises, and if you are running business from home, you are responsible for the physical welfare of clients and staff who enter your premises.
Not only do you and your business face greater risks than the normal householder, but your home insurer may take the view that these additional (business) risks invalidate your home contents policy (namely, the risks would not have arisen had you not been running a business from home).
In such cases, a separate or add-on home business insurance policy is required.

Home business policies
These typically cover the following risks:
office furniture
computers
portable equipment (laptops, mobiles, Blackberries)
public and employer’s liability (not required if you are a sole trader)
business interruption for oss of revenue/profit as a result of not being able to run your business as the result of some disaster, such as flooding.
Check that business insurance cover does not invalidate your home contents cover. The last thing that you want is for two insurers to argue, in the event of a claim, as to which one is liable for what losses.
For instance, without clear policy wording, a dispute could arise as to whether your stolen computer was a personal or business asset. The safest option is to add a business extension to your existing home contents insurance.

ABOUT BUILDINGS INSURANCE

Notes from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) on the house rebuild value calculator.
Buildings insurance policies differ in the cover they provide and in their terms and conditions. The information here is of a general nature - for detailed information you must read your buildings insurance policy.
Property Covered
In addition to the structure, a buildings policy covers permanent fixtures and fittings such as baths and toilets, fitted kitchens and bedroom cupboards. Interior decorations are also covered. Buildings insurance policies usually extend to include outbuildings such as garages, greenhouses and garden sheds. Boundary walls, fences, gates, paths, drives and swimming pools may not be covered - you need to check the policy if you need cover for these areas.

Against What Risks?
Most buildings policies cover damage to your home by:
Fire
Aircraft or things falling from them
Lightning
Subsidence, heave and landslip
Explosion
Falling trees or branches
Earthquake
Impact by vehicles or animals
Theft
Breakage or collapse of aerials
Riot and malicious persons
Escape of water from tanks or pipes
Storm and Flood
Escape of oil from fixed heating installations

Extensions of Cover
Most buildings policies have valuable extensions of cover.
Alternative Accommodation - If your home is so badly damaged that you cannot live in it until repairs are done, your buildings insurance policy will help to meet the reasonable cost of alternative accommodation up to a stated limit.
Liability - If, as owner of your home you are responsible for any injury to someone or for damage to their property your buildings insurance policy will pay the damages and cost for which you are legally liable. There is usually an upper limit of £1 million or more. However, your main legal liability arises from you being occupier of your home and a contents insurance policy covers this.
Underground Pipes and Cables - supplying gas, electricity, oil or water, as well as sewage pipes, are insured against accidental damage. They are not insured against wear and tear.
Glass - In doors, windows and skylights is covered against breakage together with baths, washbasins and WCs.

Exclusions
There are limits and exclusions to every buildings and contents policy so be sure you have read it. It is a legal contract and if there is anything you do not understand ask for an explanation.
One word you will come across is 'excess'. An excess is an amount of money you have to pay towards the cost of each claim. Excesses vary in amount. They may apply only to certain types of claim or they may apply to all claims. Your home insurance policy will tell you. One excess that appears in almost all household insurance policies applies to damage caused by subsidence, heave or landslip. This is usually a specific amount (for example £1,000). Common exclusions are war risks, damage caused by storm or flood to gates or fences, frost, sonic bangs and radioactive contamination from nuclear fuel or nuclear waste.

Sum Insured
The sum insured is the amount of money for which your home is covered. It is the most your household insurers will pay under any circumstances. You must calculate an adequate sum insured to avoid claim payments being reduced because of under insurance. Regular checks should be made to ensure it remains correct. It is your responsibility to get the sum insured right.
The sum insured under a buildings policy must be the full rebuilding cost of the home. The market value of your home or the Council Tax band valuation have no direct relationship to the rebuilding cost of your home.
You can instruct a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors to prepare a professional Rebuilding Cost Assessment for insurance purposes.
A Rebuilding Cost Assessment will normally be carried out by taking detailed measurements of the house and using the rebuilding cost information provided by BCIS. However, this may not be appropriate in certain circumstances where the method of Rebuilding Cost Assessment will need to be specially agreed. The information here gives you advice on how to check the rebuilding cost for a range of standard house types.

Index Linking
You must make sure that the buildings insurance sum insured is kept up to date to allow for changing rebuilding costs. Many home insurers help by 'index linking' your policy. This simply means that your sum insured is altered automatically whenever there is a change in the rebuilding cost. Usually there is no charge for any increase between renewal dates. Index linking can work properly only if your sum insured is right to start with. Then make sure you keep it up to date by telling your home insurance company if you improve your home - perhaps by installing central heating or building an extension. Do not rely on index linking alone to keep your sum insured up to date. Review your buildings insurance cover every few years.
Emergency Repairs
If your property is damaged, do what you can to stop the damage getting worse. Many buildings and contents home insurance policies cover the cost of temporary work. Some household insurers provide emergency 'helplines' which will help you to find a competent tradesman who can carry out emergency repair work.
Prevention
Your buildings and contents home insurance policy can help put things right, but cannot compensate for the upset and inconvenience. Take all the precautions you can to prevent the worst from happening. It has been found, in particular, that tree roots can cause damage to your own or your neighbour's property. It is important to take professional advice before planting or felling trees.

BCIS Rebuilding Cost Guidance
The Building Cost Information Service (BCIS) of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) produces a range of detailed guidance on the cost of rebuilding houses and flats. The ABI has commissioned BCIS to provide the general house rebuild value guidance included in the checking your sum insured calculator on this site, to help you check the adequacy of your sum insured.
BCIS publish three annual guides to surveyors and provide an on-line service.
Guide to House Rebuilding Costs
Regional Supplement
Guide to Rebuilding Costs of Flats
BCIS Rebuild Online

Further Information
If you need further advice on buildings and contents home insurance, your insurance company, broker or insurance adviser will be pleased to help.
Association of British Insurers
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) represents around 400 insurance companies, which between them account for over 98% of the business of UK insurance companies. The Association represents insurance companies to the Government and to regulatory and other agencies, and it provides a wide range of services to its members.

CHECKING YOUR SUM INSURED
House Rebuilding Cost Assessments for Insurance Purposes
Most domestic house insurance policies require that the sum assured is the full rebuilding cost of the property. It is the responsibility of the insured to get this figure right.
BCIS is commissioned by the Association of British Insurers to provide guidance figures for the rebuilding cost of a home to allow householders to check their sums insured.
This house rebuild value calculator gives a general indication of rebuilding costs for many common properties within the UK, but it should be noted that it is not appropriate for all houses and the rebuilding cost of even similar houses can vary depending on individual circumstances.
The guidance figures on the house rebuild value calculator are based on specific examples of five different house types of average quality, built using standard construction methods. They are not applicable to:
Houses built of stone or materials other than brick;
Properties with more than two storeys (see note on 'measuring your house') or with basements and cellars;
Houses with special design features;
Houses other than of average quality;
Flats, because types of construction differ widely, as do responsibilities for shared parts;
Houses of greater size than those described in the tables;
Houses containing hazardous materials e.g. asbestos, likely to require special precaution/treatment following damage or demolition;
Houses which are considered to be historic or are listed buildings, which will almost certainly have to be rebuilt to their original design using identical materials.
It is recommended that a flat or maisonette is insured together with the other flats or maisonettes that make up the block, under a single buildings insurance policy arranged for the whole block. This will avoid complications which may arise if units are insured individually and also ensure that you have the widest possible cover available, e.g. for common parts, which may not be available under an individual buildings insurance policy.
To calculate the rebuilding cost for any of the above categories, seek professional advice: do not rely on this house rebuild value calculator.
The rebuilding costs in the house rebuild value calculator provide for an average home to be rebuilt to its existing standard using modern materials and techniques and in accordance with current

Building Regulations and other statutory requirements.
Where it is necessary for your home to be rebuilt exactly in its original style to comply with local authority requirements, you must allow for the additional costs and a professional Rebuilding Cost Assessment is essential.
It is stressed that the house rebuild value calculator is intended for checking sums insured and is no substitute for professional advice and judgement, particularly where a property has any unusual features or is outside the range of properties described above.
If the rebuilding cost from the house rebuild value calculator is markedly different from your current sum insured contact your insurance company, broker or a local Chartered Surveyor.

Measuring Your House
You need to find the external floor area of your home - both upstairs and downstairs. The best way is to go outside and measure the length and width of your home and multiply these figures together. If you cannot measure outside, measure inside and add the thickness of the walls. You can measure either in feet or metres. An integral garage would be included in this calculation.
You now know the ground floor area. For upstairs, you may be able simply to double the ground floor area. If the other floor area is a different size then calculate the upstairs area separately and add the figures together. For three storey houses, only 70% of the floor area of the third storey need be included. A third storey of a house does not mean the attic in a two storey house, unless the roof space has been converted into a third storey.
If you have a separate garage or a garage built on the side of the house, an appropriate amount will need to be added to the rebuilding cost of the house. You will also need to allow an appropriate figure for fences, gates, walls, patios, paths, drives, swimming pools, etc.
Using the house rebuild value calculator
Insert the floor area in the box marked 'Total external area' and select the appropriate radio button 'm2' or 'ft2'

Detached
Semi-detached
Terraced
Bungalow
Semi-detached Bungalow
Select 'Age of Property' from the drop down menu on the house rebuild value calculator
1840 - 1919
1920 - 1945
1946 - 1979
1980 to date

Select 'Regional Grouping'
A list of the counties which make up each region is available.
Insert a figure for rebuilding any garages in the box on the house rebuild value calculator marked 'Add for garage'.
Insert a figure for anything else covered by the policy in the box marked 'Add for other items covered'
Most buildings insurance policies will be index linked but if not select the 'No' radio button to the 'Is the policy index linked?' question and insert an allowance for inflation up to the date when the house might be rebuilt if damaged on the last day of the policy in the box which will appear.
Select 'Calculate' and the house rebuild value calculator will report an estimate of the rebuilding cost.
Notes
(a) The costs are based on specific examples of small, medium and large houses. The house rebuild value calculator applies these costs to other floor areas in a range. It does not pro-rata the figures.
(b) The costs are based on typical design and specification for the period. The changes in specification and design implied by these age band occurred gradually rather than at specific dates. The 1840 - 1919 band is based on Victorian and Edwardian houses. No guidance is available on 1840 - 1919 bungalows.
(c) The Regions are based on the Government Office Regions with the addition of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands to make some allowance for regional differences in building costs. However, local variations are caused by a number of factors including competition between builders and the ease of rebuilding. You should seek local advice if your home is in the Channel Islands or Northern Ireland.
Building costs in the Channel Islands tend to be as high as those in London Boroughs but they are affected by particular local conditions and seeking local advice is recommended.
Building costs in Norfolk and Suffolk should be reduced by 7% against the figure produced by the calculator.
Building costs in Northern Ireland are considerably lower than in the rest of the UK but they are affected by particular local conditions and seeking local advice is recommended.
(d) For garages (other than integral), rebuilding costs can range between £6000 for a single pre-fabricated garage to £11100 for a double pre-fabricated garage. Costs for a purpose built garage range between £13800 for a single to £18600 for a double built garage. These are national average prices and will vary depending on region.
(e) The rebuilding costs in the house rebuild value calculator also include an allowance for full central heating costs (approximately £3700), demolition and site clearance costs, Architects' and Surveyors' fees, and one half of the cost of rebuilding party walls in both terraced and semi-detached houses.
(f) Costs in the house rebuild value calculator are based on houses of an average quality finish and might need adjusting. The figures given allow for double glazing. If your house is of higher quality with, for example, a luxury kitchen and sanitary fittings, floor and wall finishes, your final figure may need to be increased by up to 25%.
(g) Where a fire and/or intruder alarm system is fitted, replacement costs should be taken into account when calculating your buildings sum insured.
The Results Page
The house rebuild value calculator report page returns:
The 'base date', which is the date of the latest information from BCIS used in the calculation of your house rebuild value.
The details about your house
External floor area in metres
Type of property
Age of property
Regional group
An indication of the cost per m2 for rebuilding that type of property from the BCIS guidance.
An allowance for inflation from the time the tables were last calculated and the base date using the ABI/BCIS House Rebuilding Cost Index.
Approximate rebuilding cost of the house.
Your addition for garages where appropriate.
Your addition for other items.
Your addition for inflation (if policy is not index linked).
Approximate rebuilding cost of the property.
If the rebuilding cost is markedly different from your current sum insured contact your insurance company, broker or a local Chartered Surveyor.
Size Out of Bounds Page
The costs in the house rebuild value calculator are based on houses of specific sizes which can reasonably represent a range of sizes. If the area you have entered is outside that range no costs will be returned.
The range of sizes to which the house rebuild value calculator applies will be shown on this page.
If you think your house is not unusually large or small you should:
Check that the area of your house has been measure correctly.
Check that you have selected the appropriate measurement button
Metres - m2
Feet - ft2
Working out your "sum insured"
The "sum insured" is the amount for which your home is covered. It is the maximum the insurers will pay under any circumstances.
This house rebuild value calculator is only suitable for houses:
1. constructed from brick
2. with 3 storeys or less, with no basements or cellars
Houses NOT included in the house rebuild value calculator
1. flats
2. houses with special design features
3. houses containing asbestos
4. historic / listed building
Where it is necessary for your home to be rebuilt exactly in its original style to comply with local authority requirements, you must allow for the additional costs and a professional Rebuilding Cost Assessment is essential.
The rebuilding costs also include an allowance for full central heating costs (approximately £3,500), demolition and site clearance costs, Architects' and Surveyors' fees, and one half of the cost of rebuilding party walls in both terraced and semi-detached houses.
These rebuilding costs are based on an average quality finish. The rebuilding costs in the tables provide for an average home to be rebuilt to its existing standard using modern materials and techniques and in accordance with current Building Regulations and other statutory requirements.
Home Insurance Calculator – Buildings & Contents
Our aim is to save you money on your home insurance (often referred to as ‘house insurance’ or ‘household insurance’). This guide is to help you calculate the level of home insurance cover you need.

Rebuilding Cost Information
This is an area that can often be open for debate between the insurer and the consumer. That’s why it is the responsibility of the insurer to get this figure right.
Remember to insure the rebuilding cost of your home rather than the market value. Land normally accounts for about a third of the property’s value, yet it is not under threat from theft, storms or fire. Consequently, covering the rebuilding costs of your home rather than the market value saves on your premium. It is often less costly to rebuild your damaged house than buy another as the land it sits on typically remains unscathed.
The Building Cost Information Service (BCIS) is widely used by surveyors to provide cost advice and calculate insurance reinstatement cost investments. They are commissioned by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) to provide guidance for the rebuilding costs of properties.
To assist you in assessing the rebuilding costs of your home this guide will help you make good judgements to form an accurate calculation of the home insurance cover you need.
Please note that this guide is no substitute for professional advice, which can be obtained from a chartered surveyor. It is a general guide to house rebuild values that does not take into account specifics such as properties not built out of brick, properties with basements/cellars, houses with special design features, houses other than those of average quality. However, we hope you can use it as a general guide to assist you in getting the best home insurance deal for you.
How to Find the Rebuild Cost for Your Home
When taking out buildings insurance you will be asked for your home’s rebuild cost, or buildings sum insured, and this amount will decide how much you need to insure the property for. There are two main ways to find your home’s rebuild cost: hire a surveyor or use a house rebuild calculator.

Hire a Surveyor
The best way to get an accurate rebuild cost is to instruct a chartered surveyor to carry out detailed measurements of your house and then prepare a professional Rebuilding Cost Assessment.
Use a Rebuild Calculator

A second option is to use a house rebuild value calculator. Though simple and free to use, the drawback here is that you only get a rough idea of your home’s rebuild cost. This is important to bear in mind because if you underinsure and then, for whatever reason, your home requires a rebuild, you would only be paid up to the amount insured for, leaving you to cover any shortfall.
Likewise, don’t make the mistake of over-insuring, i.e. don’t insure for the amount you paid for your home or its current market value, both of which are likely to be much higher than the rebuild value. You only need to insure your home for its rebuild value.
To use the house rebuild value calculator you’ll need your home’s external floor area for both upstairs and downstairs. To find the ground floor area: go outside, measure the length and width of the downstairs walls and multiply these two figures together. If the upstairs is identical to the downstairs, simply double the ground floor area. If different, calculate the upstairs area separately and add it to the downstairs result.
Once you enter the above information, plus answers to a few other questions, simply hit ‘calculate’ and you’ll be presented with the approximate rebuild cost of your home.
Important: The house rebuild value calculator is based on five house types (detached, semi, terraced, detached bungalow, semi bungalow) of average quality and standard construction. You should consider hiring a surveyor to find the rebuild cost for:

Houses not built of brick
Properties with basements, cellars or more than two storeys
Houses with special design features
Houses other than of average quality
Houses of greater size than those described in the tables in the leaflet 'ABI Buildings Insurance for the Home Owners'
Houses containing hazardous materials within their construction, e.g. asbestos
Historic or listed buildings
Flats and Maisonettes
The house rebuild value calculator is not suitable for finding the rebuild cost of flats because construction methods vary too greatly. A surveyor may be your best bet in this instance. However, as most flats are leasehold there should already be buildings insurance in place through the management company/building owner, and paid for via service charges. If you have a lease, check the contract just to make sure.

Regularly Check Your Home’s Rebuild Cost
It’s important to periodically check that your buildings insurance amount still covers the rebuild cost. Some household insurance providers automatically do this by ‘index linking’ the policy, i.e. insurance premiums will adjust in line with fluctuations in house rebuild costs. Also, any extensions to the property will likely increase the rebuild cost. The point is, if the house rebuild cost increases without your buildings insurance increasing to match, you could end up underinsured – again, a big problem should the property require a rebuild and you have to make up the shortfall.
Finding the rebuild value of your home
A new online service allows people to calculate the cost of rebuilding their houses. This will help those renewing their house insurance, which is based on rebuild costs, not the market value of a property.
RICS Building Cost Information Service (BCIS) rebuild cost calculator tells you approximately how much it would cost to rebuild your house if fire or an act of God destroyed it.
The site asks a few simple questions about the age, type and quality of the property. The only thing that the owner may have to check is the external floor area within the external walls, excluding the garden.
Many people will find they are paying too little house insurance and some may find they are paying too much. Few people realise that insurance on buildings is driven by construction inflation rather than market prices.
Rebuild costs are not always proportionate to size and market value. It is possible that a highly valued, new-build house in Mayfair will need to be insured for less than a Victorian terrace in Bridlington.
The rebuild cost calculator gives people a starting point to check they are paying the right home insurance.

Home buildings insurance is an essential protection, ensuring that life's unexpected emergencies can be managed with out incurring debts. But it is vital that the correct rebuilding valuation is used when buying insurance to make sure any claim can be paid in full.
Use the BCIS house rebuild value calculator to calculate the rebuilding costs of your home.
How do you measure the external floor area?
More than 90% of home owners don't know the external floor area of their homes - both upstairs and downstairs
However, this number underpins the calculation of the rebuilding cost of homes in the UK - which in turn drives rebuild insurance premiums for home owners.
BCIS (The Building Cost Information Service of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) believes that all home owners should know the size of their home [expressed as external floor area] and that when buying or selling a house this should be part of the standard information from Estate Agents.
Home buyers in the UK are still buying property largely based on the number of bedrooms [hence the proliferation of box rooms] but with house densities set to increase, and houses having shrunk in size since the 1930s, then external floor area may be one of the only true measures of whether you really are getting value for money.
Across the rest of Europe home owners are already familiar with buying properties in terms of floor area measured in metres squared.
Finding out the external floor area (and remember both upstairs and downstairs is needed) is not really that hard. The best way is to:
Go outside and measure the length and width of your home and multiply these figures together.
If you cannot measure outside, measure inside and add the thickness of the walls. You can measure either in feet or metres. An integral garage would be included in this calculation. You now know the ground floor area.
For upstairs, you may be able simply to double the ground floor area. If the other floor area is a different size then calculate the upstairs area separately and add the figures together.
For three storey houses, only 70% of the floor area of the third storey need be included.
A third storey of a house does not mean the attic in a two-storey house, unless the roof space has been converted into a third storey.
If you have a separate garage or a garage built on the side of the house, an appropriate amount will need to be added to the rebuilding cost of the house. You will also need to allow an appropriate figure for fences, gates, walls, patios, paths, drives, swimming pools, etc.

Rebuild Value
When you are arranging buildings and contents insurance for your home or let property you will need to know the rebuild value of the building. The following terms are commonly used when describing this value and all relate to the same thing:
Rebuild value
Reinstatement value
Building sum insured
You should note that the rebuild value and the sale price of your property will be different and failure to insure your building for the correct amount can result in a claim being repudiated.
Why is the rebuild value different from the sale price?
The rebuild value takes into account the costs of clearing the site ready for rebuilding the property and associated costs however the sale price is literally just for the sale of the property. Generally the rebuild figure is lower than the sale price because even if the property was to be completely demolished you would still own the land which the property sat on which is usually worth a substantial amount in its own right.
There are however some circumstances where the rebuild value may be higher than the sale price.

How do I find out the rebuild value?
Many property owners have a survey of their property undertaken before they purchase it to check for any structural problems and such like. If you have a mortgage for the property then you may find that the lender has had their own survey carried out. The figure on these surveys is the most accurate way to determine the rebuild cost, however you should take into account that if the survey is old then the figure may now be different.
If you do not have a survey then there are rebuild calculators available online such as the one offered by the Association of British insurers (ABI). However these Reinstatement value tools can only offer an estimate and no guarantee can be offered as to how accurate the figures are.

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Tax Free Cash

Tax-Free Cash Lump Sum – this is an amount of cash which you can take from your pension fund free of income and capital gains tax.

Tax-free cash is known as the ‘pension commencement lump sum’ and can be taken when you take your pension benefits, or earlier if you need your tax free cash before wishing to take an income.

The pensions simplification legislation introduced a level playing field for tax-free cash. Under the new rules, all pension policyholders are able to take 25% of their fund as tax-free cash. This was always the case for personal pensions, but this is a new requirement for all the other schemes such as additional voluntary contribution (AVC) schemes and protected rights schemes.

For occupational schemes, the new rules mean some employees are entitled to more tax-free cash and others less. Entitlement was based on a calculation involving the number of years' service and the employee's final salary. This meant that some employees could build up entitlements as high as 50% of their benefits, while others were entitled to significantly less than 25%.

Not all schemes, however, will offer the full entitlement to tax-free cash. There is no obligation on the trustees of occupational schemes to amend their rules to give employees an automatic right to the full 25% tax free cash.

The maximum tax free cash sum that you can usually take is therefore limited to a maximum of 25% of the underlying fund value. The remainder of your pension fund, after deduction of the tax free cash, will either remain invested until you need to take a pension income, or will be used to buy a pension annuity.

Thus a private pension fund worth £50,000 would offer a tax free cash lump sum payment of £12,500 (before any fees or product provider charges where applicable are taken into account). The actual size of the tax free cash lump sum potentially available will depend on the size and type of pension benefits you hold.

Once you have taken your tax-free cash entitlement, this tax free cash is no longer considered to be ‘pension money’, and you may do with it as you wish. Whilst you do not have to take tax-free cash, it may suit your circumstances. Once you have taken this tax free cash lump sum, you can't take any more tax free cash from your pension.

As mentioned above, if you take the Tax Free Cash from your pension you can leave the remaining fund invested until you chose to retire or take income from your pension. Currently you have to be over age 50 to do this. In the year 2010 the age at which you can take tax free cash increases to 55.

If you want to take your Tax Free Cash and your current pension plan is not able to release your benefits directly to you, it maybe necessary to transfer the pension fund to a new plan in order to take your tax free cash early.

However if you are considering taking your tax free cash early, you must be aware that this may significantly reduce the value of the pension you receive in retirement. Whilst taking a large tax free cash lump sum can be very tempting, it is vital that you consider how taking 25% of your pension fund out as tax free cash will affect you in the longer term.

You may also wish to consider using all or part of your tax free cash to provide a supplementary income, and we can give you some options on this.

Open Market Option

Open Market Option is your right to shop around for the best deal.
You don’t have to buy your pension income or annuity from your existing pension provider. By shopping around, you might get a better deal, and this is known as an Open Market Option.

Because you don’t have to take your pension income from your existing pension provider, an Open Market Option allows you to buy a pension with another pension provider. You can take your tax-free cash and then the balance of the fund in your pension will be sent to another pension provider who will set up your pension.

In short, the open market option refers to the right of anyone approaching retirement to choose to turn their pension fund into an income with a company which is different to the one which has administered their funds during their employment.

The Open Market Option was introduced in the Finance Act 1978. The open market option allows you to transfer your pension fund from one provider to another to achieve a higher annuity rate. You must exercise an open market option before any benefits are drawn from the existing pension provider in the form of an income (pension annuity) or tax free cash lump sum.

Although everyone with a private pension scheme has the right to exercise their open market option and source a pension annuity from another provider, over two thirds of people do not. They could receive extra income of up to 30%, worth thousands of pounds every year for the rest of their lives, simply by taking their open market option.

If you decide to take your tax free cash lump sum you can use the money to buy a purchase life annuity. The open market option can also apply to this tax free cash lump sum enabling you to secure the best annuity income.

When you approach your expected retirement age, you will receive information from your existing pension provider about what pension annuity they can offer, after taking your tax free cash. The provider's annuity may not be competitive and an open market option could add up to 30% more pension income each year for the rest of the your life.

An open market option means you are free to buy a pension annuity from any provider in the market. Although every one of the approximate 300,000 people retiring in the UK in 2008 could consider an open market option, but over two-thirds still did not shop around to find the best annuities.

Pension providers have different views on the type of pension annuity business they want to attract. So the pension annuity rates they offer can vary widely from one company to another.

Pension Annuity

A pension annuity is the technical term for what most people think of as their “pension”. A pension annuity turns your pension fund (which you have built up during your working life) into a regular pension income, which will be paid to you for as long as you live.

A pension annuity is simply a series of payments made usually on a monthly basis. You use your pension fund to buy a pension annuity. The pension annuity rate will depend on many factors, including your age, your health, general economic factors at that time such as interest rates, any annuity guaranteed period, any regular increase to apply each year (escalation) and how many times and when in each year the pension will be paid.

The pension income you receive from the pension annuity can be set to be level or indexed, and you will receive a guaranteed income for life. There are no additional charges taken from the pension annuity contract once it has been set up, as the charges are reflected in the pension annuity rate.

You need to ensure you are happy with the pension annuity contract as you can not change it once it has been set up.

You can buy a pension annuity as long as you are over 50 and under 75 when the annuity starts. From 6th April 2010 you need to be at least 55 before you can buy an annuity.
You don’t have to buy a pension annuity when you reach retirement age, you have a choice on when you want to buy it.

By purchasing annuities through an open market option, your existing pension fund provider may make an administrative charge. However, the extra income usually secured by exercising your open market option far outweighs such costs. The other consideration is what costs are there from the new provider of your pension annuity.

Some pension providers will also offer enhanced pension annuity rates, sometimes called impaired pension annuity rates, to individuals who have medical problems and therefore a shorter life expectancy. In addition, some providers will offer enhanced pension annuity rates to smokers who have smoked for more than 10 years.

Steptoe and Son

The BBC first broadcast Steptoe and Son on 5 th January 1962. It was written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson and it became an immediate hit, even though Steptoe and Son was written as a one off drama called “The Offer” the BBC instantly knew they had a hit on their hands and Ray and Alan were immediately asked to write a full series. Steptoe and Son features the lives and adventures of two rag and bone men. Albert Steptoe is the father who tires everyway possible to hold his son back. albert was played by Wilfred Brambell a wonderful character actor from Dublin Ireland. Harry H. Corbett played the long suffering son Harold Steptoe. Many of the funniest moments come when Harold Steptoe sees his father Albert Steptoe perform some revolting task to which he invariably responded “You Dirty Old Man”. This turned out to be the only catchphrase that appeared in Steptoe and Son.

It is almost 50 years since the first episode of Steptoe and Son was broadcast, many other series have come and gone, however they all recognise the debt TV comedy owes to Albert Steptoe and his son Harold Steptoe played by those wonderful actors Wilfred Brambell and Harry H Corrbett with scripts written by the UK’s greatest scriptwriting team Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. Long live Steptoe and Son

Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie Detailed Biography:

Agatha Christie was a very prolific British author of mystery novels and short stories, creator of Hercule Poirot, the Belgian detective, and Miss Jane Marple. Christie wrote more than 70 detective novels under the surname of her first husband, Colonel Archibald Christie. Agatha Christie also published a series of romances under the name of Mary Westmacott, and a children's book.

Agatha Christie (Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller) was born in Torquay, in the county of Devon, as the daughter of Frederick Alvah Miller, an American with a moderate private income, and Clarissa Miller (Clarissa Margaret Boehmer). The Millers, Agatha's parents, had two other children: Margaret Frary Miller (1879–1950), called Madge, who was eleven years Agatha Christie's senior, and Louis Montant Miller (1880–1929), called Monty, ten years older than Agatha. Later, in her autobiography, Agatha Christie would refer to her brother as "an amiable scapegrace of a brother".

Agatha's father died when she was a child. Agatha Christie was at educated home, where her mother encouraged her to write from very early age. With her mother’s encouragement, Agatha Christie had already begun to write both stories and poetry. Agatha had some success with her poems, some of which were published in Poetry Reviews, but fared less well with her short stories, which she regularly submitted without success to various magazines. Agatha began a novel, which she entitled, Snow upon the Desert, and solicited the help of a local author and family friend, Eden Phillpotts. He gave Agatha advice and in due course the novel was submitted to this literary agent in London. But the interview between the literary agent and the budding young author was not a success and the novel was discarded.

At sixteen Agatha was sent to school in Paris where she studied singing and piano. Agatha Christie was an accomplished pianist but her stage fright and shyness prevented her from pursuing a career in music. In her books Agatha Christie seldom referred to music, although her detectives, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, show interest in opera and Poirot sings in THE ABC MURDERS (1936) a World War I song.

Now in her early 20s, Agatha was in considerable demand by any number of young men and in due course, while engaged to someone else, she met and fell in love with a young officer in the Field Artillery, one Archie Christie. On Christmas Eve 1914 Agatha Miller married Archibald Christie, an officer in the Flying Royal Corps who was beginning to earn a reputation as an aviator ace. Agatha and Archie had one daughter, Rosalind Hicks, who was born in 1919.

During World War I Agatha Christie worked in a Red Cross Hospital in Torquay as a nurse. After two years of nursing, Agatha Christie graduated to the dispensary, where she acquired a knowledge of poisons that was to yield dividends in due course. Christie had already considered writing a detective novel, but her sister Madge was dismissive of the idea. Now perhaps encouraged by the proximity of the poison cabinet, Agatha Christie decided to prove her sister wrong.

Agatha chose a setting, a country house in a small Essex village, and a method, poison, and most importantly invented a detective, a retired Belgian policeman by the name of Hercule Poirot. With the necessary ingredients in place Christie set to work and wrote steadily until, about half way through, she became stuck. Following family suggestions, Agatha Christie took herself off to a remote hotel in the middle of Dartmoor and immersed herself in her writing, finishing the manuscript within a fortnight in the summer of 1916.

Agatha Christie's husband, home on leave, enjoyed the story, entitled the Mysterious Affair at Styles, and recommended that the manuscript be submitted to Methuen where a friend of his was a director. But Methuen sat on the novel for 6 months before rejecting it, and another publisher was approached with a similar result. Agatha Christie sent her manuscript to yet a third publisher, The Bodley Head, where it languished.

Agatha Christie's first detective novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, introduced Hercule Poirot, the Belgian detective, who appeared in more than 40 books, the last of which was CURTAIN (1975). The Christies bought a house and named it 'Styles' after the first novel.

Agatha Christie's marriage broke up in 1926, and in the same year Agatha Christie's beloved mother died. It had been during this marriage that Agatha Christie published her first novel in 1920, The Mysterious Affair at Styles.

Agatha Christie's husband Archie Christie had revealed that he was in love with another woman, Nancy Neele, and wanted a divorce. On 3 December 1926 the couple quarrelled, and Archie Christie left their house in Sunningdale, Berkshire to spend the weekend with his mistress. After hearing that her husband had left for Miss Neele's house, Agatha Christie disappeared for a time. That same evening Agatha Christie had left behind a letter for her secretary saying that she was going to Yorkshire. Agatha’s disappearance caused a public outcry, many of whom were admirers of Agatha Christie's novels. Despite a massive manhunt, there were no results until eleven days later. "I would gladly give £500 if I could only hear where my wife is," said Colonel Archie Christie.

Eleven days after her disappearance, Agatha Christie was identified as a guest at the Swan Hydropathic Hotel in Harrogate, Yorkshire where she was registered as 'Mrs Teresa Neele' from Cape Town. Christie gave no account of her disappearance. Although two doctors had diagnosed her as suffering from amnesia, opinion remains divided as to the reasons for Agatha Christie's disappearance. One suggestion is that Christie had suffered a nervous breakdown brought about by a natural propensity for depression, exacerbated by Agatha’s mother's death earlier that year, and the discovery of Agatha Christie’s husband's infidelity. Public reaction at the time was largely negative with many believing it was all just a publicity stunt, whilst others speculated Agatha Christie was trying to make the police think her husband killed her as revenge for his affair. The disappearance of Agatha Christie in 1926 was basis for the film Agatha. It was directed in 1978 by Michael Apted. In title role was Vanessa Redgrave as Agatha Christie.

Agatha Christie's divorce was finalized in 1928, and two years later she married the archaeologist Max Mallowan. Agatha had met him on her travels in the Middle East in 1927, and accompanied him on his excavations of sites in Syria and Iraq. Later Agatha Christie used these exotic settings in her novels MURDER IN MESOPOTAMIA (1936) and Death on the Nile (1937). Agatha Christie's own archeological adventures were recounted in COME TELL ME HOW YOU LIVE (1946). Max Mallowan was Catholic and fourteen years Agatha's junior; Max Mallowan became one of the most prominent archaeologist of his generation. Of her marriage Agatha Christie told reporters: "An archaeologist is the best husband any woman can have. The older she gets, the more interested he is in her." Max Mallowan worked in Iraq in the 1950s but returned to England, when Agatha Christie's health grew weaker. Max Mallowan's most famous book was Nimrud and its Remains. Agatha Christie's second marriage was happy in the early years and endured despite Mallowan's alleged affairs in later life, notably with Barbara Parker whom he married in 1977, the year after Agatha Christie's death.

As already mentioned, Agatha Christie's travels with Max Mallowan contributed background to several of her novels set in the Middle East. Other novels (such as And Then There Were None) were set in and around Torquay, Devon where Agatha Christie was born. Christie's 1934 novel, Murder on the Orient Express was written in the Hotel Pera Palace in Istanbul, Turkey, the southern terminus of the railway. The hotel maintains Agatha Christie's room as a memorial to the author. The Greenway Estate in Devon, acquired by Agatha Christie as a summer residence in 1938, is now in the care of the National Trust. Agatha Christie often stayed at Abney Hall in Cheshire, which was owned by Christie’s brother-in-law, James Watts. Agatha based at least two of her stories on the hall: The short story The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding, which is in the story collection of the same name, and the novel After the Funeral. Abney became Agatha Christie's greatest inspiration for country-house life, with all the servants and grandeur which have been woven into her plots. The descriptions of the fictional Styles, Chimneys, Stoneygates and the other houses in Agatha Christie’s stories are mostly said to be Abney in various forms.

Agatha Christie's most prolific period began in the late 1920s. During the 1930s Agatha published four non-series mystery novels, fourteen Hercule Poirot novels, two Jane Marple novels, two Superintendent Battle books, a book of stories featuring Harley Quin and another featuring Mr Parker Pyne, an additional Mary Westmacott book, and two original plays. In 1936 Agatha Christie published the first of six psychological romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. After visiting Luxor in 1937, where Agatha Christie saw Howard Carter, she wrote the play AKHNATON, which was not published until 1973. Agatha Christie's play was produced in New York as Akhnaton and Nefertiti in 1979 and next year in London.

During WW II Agatha Christie worked in the dispensary of University College Hospital in London. Agatha Christie also produced twelve completed novels. After the war Christie continued to write prolifically, also gaining success on the stage and in the cinema. Witness for the Prosecution, for example, was chosen the best foreign play of the 1954-55 season by the New York Drama Critics Circle. Witness for the Prosecution had opened in London in October 1953 and by December 1954, it was on Broadway. With Max Mallowan Agatha Christie traveled in 1947 and 1949 to expeditions to Nimrud, the ancient capital of Assyria, and in the Tigris Valley.

Among the many film adaptations of Agatha Christie's work are Murder on the Orient Express (1974), directed by Sidney Lument and with Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot, and Death on the Nile (1978), with Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot. Both films were nostalgic costume dramas. Even the small parts in Murder on the Orient Express were filled by famous stars.

According to Billy Wilder, Agatha Christie herself considered his Witness for the Prosecution the best film adaptation of her work. Wilder rewrote Agatha Christie's dialogue but did not change the clever plot with a surprise ending.

Agatha Christie's characters are usually well-to-do people. Often the comfortable lifestyle of Agatha's characters are undermined by financial problems, which lead to murder. Although Agatha's villains use very complicated plans, they are not impossible, but are firmly grounded on the everyday reality. In many stories the reader is fooled to suspect an innocent character, but most innovative was when Agatha Christie revealed the guilty party: it has been the narrator, a group of people, a serial killer who tries to hide an obvious motive for his killing one of the victims, and so forth. Agatha Christie's world view was conservative and rational, but there is always a place for accidents: "'...Does it not strike you that the easiest way of removing someone you want to remove from your path is to take advantage of accident? Accidents are happening all the time. And sometimes - Hastings - they can be helped to happen!'"(Dumb Witness 1937). Agatha Christie always gives a logical explanation for crimes, but society is not blamed. Murder is not a sign of degeneration of middle-class values. After the crime is solved, life continues happily. Although Agatha Christie's writing career spanned over six decades, she was conscious of social change without fixating on the period between the two World Wars. "When I reread those first books," she said in 1966, "I'm amazed at the number of servants drifting around. And nobody is really doing any work, they're always having tea on the lawn." However, Agatha Christie did not like editing her own text and was even reluctant to change the spelling unless a word has actually been misspelt.

By 1955 Christie had become a limited company, Agatha Christie Ltd, which was acquired in the late 1960s by Booker Books. It had already acquired Ian Fleming.

To honour her many literary works, Agatha Christie was awarded a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1956.

In 1967 Agatha Christie became president of the British Detection Club. When Agatha Christie was asked to be President of the Detection Club in 1958, the only possible successor to Dorothy L. Sayers, she agreed but made it a condition that she should not be asked to speak at its public meetings. Nor, living comparatively far out of London and increasingly aged, did Agatha Christie often attend our gatherings.

In 1971 Agatha Christie was made a Dame of the British Empire, three years after her husband was knighted Sir Max Mallowan in 1968 for his archeological work.

From 1971 to 1974, Agatha Christie's health began to fail however Christie continued to write. In 1975, sensing her increasing weakness, Agatha Christie signed over the rights of her most successful play, The Mousetrap, to her grandson. Agatha Christie died on 12 January 1976, at age 85, from natural causes, at her Winterbrook House in the north of Cholsey parish, adjoining Wallingford in Oxfordshire (formerly Berkshire). Agatha Christie is buried in the nearby St. Mary's Churchyard in Cholsey. Max Mallowan died two years later, but he had married after Agatha Christie's death an old family friend.

With over one hundred novels and over one hundred translations into foreign languages, Agatha Christie was by the time of her death the best-selling English novelist of all time. As Margery Allingham said: Agatha Christie has "entertained more people for more hours at time that any other writer of her generation."

Agatha Christie's only child, Rosalind Margaret Hicks, also died aged 85 in 28 October 2004, from natural causes, in Torbay, Devon. Agatha Christie's grandson, Mathew Prichard, was heir to the copyright to some of his grandmother's literary work (including The Mousetrap) and is still associated with Agatha Christie Limited.

Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple

Hercule Poirot was an amiably comic character with an egg-shaped head, an eccentric whose friend Captain Hastings represents the "idiot narrator" - familiar from Sherlock Holmes stories. Hercule Poirot draws conclusions from observing people's conduct and from objects around him, creating a chain of facts that finally reveal the murderer. '"He tapped his forehead. "These little gray cells. It is 'up to them' - as you say over here."' Behind the apparently separate details is always a pattern, which only Hercule Poirot is able to see.

Miss Marple, an elderly spinster, was a typical English character, but when Hercule Poirot used logic and rational methods, Miss Jane Marple relied on her feminine sensitivity and empathy to solve crimes. Miss Marple was born and lived in the village of St Mary Mead. Both Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple did not have any family life, but Hercule Poirot also travelled much. Miss Marple was featured in 17 novels, the first being MURDER AT THE VICARAGE (1930) and the last SLEEPING MURDER (1977). Miss Marple was reportedly based on the author's own grandmother. Miss Marple made her first screen appearance in 1961 in Murder She Said, starring Margaret Rutherford. It was based on the novel 4:50 FROM PADDINGTON (1957). It was followed by Murder at the Galop (1963), Murder Ahoy (1964), and Murder Most Foul (1964), all directed by George Pollock. The BBC TV series starred Joan Hickson as Miss Jane Marple and ran 1984-87. Gracie Fields played Miss Marple on television in an adaptation of A Murder Is Announced (1956).

Hercule Poirot, a former policeman, was forced to flee his country after the German invasion of Belgium in 1914. Poirot's assistant Captain Hastings married in the early 1930s and Hercule Poirot settled to London's Whitehaven Mansions. Hercule Poirot is short - only five feet four inches tall. Poirot has waxed moustache, egg-shaped head and small feet. Hercule Poirot first appeared on screen in Alibi (1931). It was based on THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD (1926). "Every murderer is probably somebody's old friend," Agatha Christie wrote in it. With these kind of insights in motives and methods of a murder Agatha Christie proved that she could have been a competent teacher at police academies. Peter Ustinov played Hercule Poirot in Death on the Nile (1978), Evil under the Sun (1982), and Appointment with Death (1988). David Suchet was Hercule Poirot in the UK television series (1989-91). In Murder by the Book (1986) Ian Holm's Poirot investigated his own murder. Tony Randall played Hercule Poirot in Frank Tashlin's unorthodox adaptation The Alphabet Murders (1965), in which Anita Ekberg galloped on horseback through Kensington Gardens.

In 56 years Agatha Christie wrote 66 detective novels, among the best of which are The Murder of Roger Acroyd, MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (1934), DEATH ON THE NILE (1937), and TEN LITTLE NIGGERS (1939). The film version of Ten Little Niggers (1945, US title: And Then There Were None) by the French director René Clair, starring Walter Huston and Barry Fitzgerald, is one of the most faithful Agatha Christie adaptations. In addition to these mysteries, Agatha Christie wrote her autobiography - Agatha Christie - An Autobiography (1977), and several plays, including THE MOUSETRAP, which run more than 30 years continuously at the Ambassadors Theatre in London. The play was based on AGatha Christie's short story 'Three Blind Mice', and was produced in 1952 in Nottingham and London.

Agatha Christie's first novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles was published in 1920 and introduced the long-running character detective Hercule Poirot, who appeared in 33 of Christie's novels and 54 short stories. Her other well known character, Miss Marple, was introduced in The Tuesday Night Club in 1927 (short story), and was based on women like Agatha Christie's grandmother and her "cronies".

During World War II, Agatha Christie wrote two novels, Curtain and Sleeping Murder, intended as the last cases of these two great detectives, Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple, respectively. Both books were sealed in a bank vault for over thirty years, and were released for publication by Agatha Christie only at the end of her life, when she realized that she could not write any more novels. These publications came on the heels of the success of the film version of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express in 1974.

Like Arthur Conan Doyle with Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie was to become increasingly tired of her detective, Hercule Poirot. In fact, by the end of the 1930s, Agatha Christie confided to her diary that she was finding Poirot “insufferable," and by the 1960s she felt that he was "an ego-centric creep." However, unlike Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie resisted the temptation to kill her detective off while he was still popular. Christie saw herself as an entertainer whose job was to produce what the public liked, and the public liked Hercule Poirot.

In contrast, Agatha Christie was fond of Miss Marple. However it is interesting to note that the Belgian detective’s titles outnumber the Marple titles by more than two to one. This is largely because Agatha Christie wrote numerous Poirot novels early in her career, while The Murder at the Vicarage remained the sole Miss Marple novel until the 1940s.

Agatha Christie never wrote a novel or short story featuring both Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. In a recording, recently re-discovered and released in 2008, Agatha Christie revealed the reason for this: "Hercule Poirot, a complete egoist, would not like being taught his business or having suggestions made to him by an elderly spinster lady".

Hercule Poirot is the only fictional character to have been given an obituary in The New York Times, following the publication of Curtain in 1975.

Following the great success of Curtain, Agatha Christie gave permission for the release of Sleeping Murder sometime in 1976, but died in January 1976 before the book could be released. This may explain some of the inconsistencies compared to the rest of the Miss Marple series — for example, Colonel Arthur Bantry, husband of Miss Marple's friend, Dolly, is still alive and well in Sleeping Murder despite the fact he is noted as having died in books published earlier. It may be that Agatha Christie simply did not have time to revise the manuscript before she died. Miss Jane Marple fared better than Hercule Poirot, since after solving the mystery in Sleeping Murder she returns home to her regular life in St Mary Mead.

On an edition of Desert Island Discs in 2007, Brian Aldiss claimed that Agatha Christie told him that she wrote her books up to the last chapter, and then decided who the most unlikely suspect was. Agatha would then go back and make the necessary changes to "frame" that person. The evidence of Christie's working methods, as described by successive biographers, belies this claim.

Almost all of Agatha Christie’s books are whodunits, focusing on the English middle and upper classes. Usually, the detective either stumbles across the murder or is called upon by an old acquaintance, who is somehow involved. Gradually, the detective interrogates each suspect, examines the scene of the crime and makes a note of each clue, so readers can analyze it and be allowed a fair chance of solving the mystery themselves. Then, about halfway through, or sometimes even during the final act, one of the suspects usually dies, often because they have inadvertently deduced the killer's identity and need silencing. In a few of her novels, including Death Comes as the End and Ten Little Indians, there are multiple victims. Finally, the detective organizes a meeting of all the suspects and slowly denounces the guilty party, exposing several unrelated secrets along the way, sometimes over the course of thirty or so pages. The murders are often extremely ingenious, involving some convoluted piece of deception. Christie’s stories are also known for their taut atmosphere and strong psychological suspense, developed from the deliberately slow pace of her prose. Twice, the murderer surprisingly turns out to be the narrator of the story.

In four stories, Agatha Christie allows the murderer to escape justice (and in the case of the last three, implicitly almost approves of their crimes); these are The Witness for the Prosecution, Murder on the Orient Express, Curtain and The Unexpected Guest. After the denouement of Taken at the Flood, her sleuth Hercule Poirot has the guilty party arrested for the lesser crime of manslaughter. (When Agatha Christie adapted Witness for the Prosecution into a stage play, she lengthened the ending so that the murderer was also killed.)

Agatha Christie was revered as a master of suspense, plotting and characterization by most of her contemporaries and, even today, her stories have received glowing reviews in most literary circles. Fellow crime writer Anthony Berkeley Cox was an admitted fan of Agatha's work, once saying that nobody can write an Agatha Christie novel but the authoress herself.

Agatha Christie has been portrayed on a number of occasions in film and television. Several films, such as the 1979 film Agatha by Vanessa Redgrave and the Doctor Who episode "The Unicorn and the Wasp" by Fenella Woolgar, explored and offered accounts of Agatha Christie's disappearance in 1926. Others, such as 1980 Hungarian film, Kojak Budapesten recreate their own scenarios involving Agatha's criminal skill. In the 1986 TV play, Murder by the Book, Agatha Christie herself (Peggy Ashcroft) murdered one of her fictional-turned-real characters, Hercule Poirot. Several educational programs have been made, such as the 2004 BBC television program entitled Agatha Christie: A Life in Pictures, in which she is portrayed by Olivia Williams, Anna Massey, and Bonnie Wright. Several parodies have been made, including Murder by Indecision, where she is parodied as "Agatha Crispy".

Agatha Christie Legacy

Agatha Christie died in 1976. Her literary legacy inludes 66 crime novels, 13 plays, as well as 154 short stories, most of which have been published in 16 collections in the UK. A few of Agatha Christie's stories evaded publication as part of collections and are only available in their original serial form. Agatha Christie also contributed to 3 collaborative detective novels, and under the name of Mary Westmacott wrote 6 romantic novels.

All of Agatha Christie's works published in book form remain in print in UK and the Mousetrap has more than 20,000 West End performances and countless amateur performances. Agatha's works have been translated into more than 50 languages and published in 70 countries. Christie has sold over 2 billion books and her UK publishes, Harper Collins, expects to sell 600,000 each year. At least 30 feature films and over 100 TV productions been made.

It amazing that Agatha Christie's first book, Mysterious Affair at Styles, was rejected by 2 major publishing houses, and nearly 6 years were to pass before eventually accepted by John Lane of The Bodley Head. Such a tight deal was struck that Agatha Christie made virtually no money and found herself contracted to offer next 5 novels on terms only marginally better than those agreed for first book.

The BBC reported Agatha Christie's death as follows:

Crime writer Agatha Christie dies

The most popular novelist in the world, Dame Agatha Christie, has died leaving rumours of a multi-million pound fortune and a final book waiting to be published. The British author, who sold an estimated 300 million books during her lifetime, had been in poor health for several years. Agatha Christie died at her home in Wallingford in Oxfordshire, aged 85.

Two London theatres dimmed their lights this evening - St Martin's where her record-breaking "The Mousetrap" is now in its 24th year and the Savoy, where "Murder at the Vicarage" will have its 200th performance next week.

Dame Agatha Christie is believed to have left one last novel, as yet unpublished, featuring one of her most famous characters, the deceptively clever Miss Marple, as well as an autobiography.

Newspaper estimates of Agatha Christie’s fortune vary, but in the late 1950s she was reputed to be earning about £100,000 a year. The hugely successful play Mousetrap - first written as a radio sketch called Three Blind Mice for the 80th birthday of Queen Mary - is said to have made more than £3m. Agatha Christie gave the proceeds to her only grandson, Matthew Prichard.

Christie was known to be a shrewd businesswoman, anxious to avoid leaving too much of her personal fortune to the taxman. Agatha once said: "I only write one book a year now, which is sufficient to give me a good income. If I wrote more, I'd enlarge the finances of the Inland Revenue who would spent it mostly on idiotic things."

In 1955 Agatha Christie formed a company, Agatha Christie Ltd and to save its dividends from tax, she later sold 51% to Booker McConnell, a firm best known as sugar giants but also with other investments including authors' copyrights.

Agatha Christie's Will

Dame Agatha Christie's will was published on 30 April 1976 and revealed she had left only £106,683, having managed to dispose of most of her wealth before she died. Agatha Christie left most of her property to her husband and daughter with a number of smaller bequests such as £500 to her gardener, £250 to her secretary and £200 to her garden manager. Sleeping Murder, Miss Marple's last case, was published after her death. Agatha Christie’s autobiography was also published posthumously.

Her legacy lives on in Torquay, Devon, where her daughter by her first marriage Rosalind Hicks lived until her death in 2004. Today there is an Agatha Christie museum and a bronze bust of the author at the harbourside. Christie’s only grandson, Matthew Pritchard, is chairman of Agatha Christie Ltd.