Buildings Insurance is one of two kinds of insurance for your home (the other is contents insurance).
When you purchase buildings insurance, you are paying an insurance company to take some of the risk involved with owning a home: that of damage to the actual structure of your house.
Should something happen to your home, the insurance company will be responsible for dealing with any resulting consequences if the damage happened as a result of flooding, water damage from burst pipes/water tanks/central heating, falling trees, fire, earthquakes, animals, fire, and vehicles.
There are some policies that include features above and beyond those just mentioned, but chances are, even if you have a bare-bones policy, you’ll be able to pay extra for more.
Some examples include buildings insurance policies that cover your cost of finding alternative living accommodations in the event that your house is made uninhabitable. You can also be protected against damage to the utility pipes and underground cables leading to your home, or against damage to the glazing on glass surfaces (skylights, windows, etc.).
In the event that you did not purchase your home outright with cash, then the lender that provided your mortgage requires that you have enough buildings insurance to rebuild your home from scratch (this is usually much less than market value).
Knowing the rebuild cost will allow you to compare insurance policies. If you purchased your home not that long ago, you can find that info on the mortgage survey. Otherwise, simply get in touch with a surveyor and get an estimate. And of course, you can always utilize one of those price comparison websites.