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Some insurers ask you to have specific locks to even take out a policy with them. If your home has high-quality locks, insurers will see you as less of a risk and so generally offer lower premiums.

A working house alarm can reduce how much you pay for home insurance. Make sure the model is approved by the insurer. Also, remember to use it at all times if you’re out of the house, or your insurance could be invalid.

Your house insurance excess is the amount you have to pay when you make a claim. Insurers usually offer a cheaper premium if you’re happy to pay a higher voluntary excess. This can be helpful while you’re making your payments. But you also need to make sure you can afford the excess in case need to make a claim.

Add up the value of your belongings so you know how much cover you need. Don’t get too much, or you will be paying for cover you don't require. Here’s how to work out what you need.

This is how much it would cost to rebuild your house from scratch. It’s not the same as your home’s market value. The rebuild cost is usually listed on your mortgage valuation. This guide explains how to work out your rebuild cost so you can get the right amount of cover.

You can earn a no claims bonus for each year that you continue to have a home insurance policy and don’t make a claim. The more years you have with no claims, the lower your home insurance premiums will be.

Many people make the mistake of covering the market value of their home. But all you need to cover is the rebuild cost, which is less, in case it was knocked down. Less cover means cheaper insurance. But you’ll also need to make sure your cover provides you with alternative accommodation so you’d have somewhere to live while your home was rebuilt.

Loyalty isn’t rewarded when it comes to insurance, so remember to compare home insurance quotes when it’s time to renew. You could always ring your current insurer once you’ve done this to see if they’ll price match. It’s fine to haggle or ask for a discount on your home insurance. Also, shop around about a month before your home insurance is due for renewal – you’ll get a better deal than if you leave it until the last minute.

Having good locks on your doors and windows is important. Better locks mean cheaper premiums. Some insurers even specify which ones they need you to have, so check carefully. You’ll also need to put down the right type when you’re asked – getting it wrong could make your house insurance cover invalid. Know your locks!

Although it can be tempting to pay monthly so you don’t have to pay upfront, it’s always cheaper to pay annually. Paying monthly is like getting a high-interest loan. It’s better to pay in full with a low APR credit card than it is to pay monthly through the insurer’s scheme.

Avoid extra cover you don’t need. Check what accidental damage cover you get as standard before you decide whether you need more. For example, some insurers cover electrical goods, but don’t cover you if you spill paint on your carpet.

Think carefully about whether you need to cover personal possessions that you take out of the house too. Some people already have separate specialist mobile phone, gadget, or bike insurance. It can sometimes work out cheaper if it’s separate.

If you’ve gone several years without making a claim, you’ll usually be offered cheaper home insurance. So be sensible about what claims you choose to make. Sometimes it can be better to think about the bigger picture than make a small claim and lose your no claims discount.

They bring us comfort, company and thousands of cute photo opportunities, but pets can also cause their fair share of utter chaos. From knocking over fragile decorations, through to leaving mud (and worse) all over our floors, rarely does a day go by where pet owners don’t find something a little surprising.

But for some animals, the chaos goes way beyond occasional accidents. We’ve scoured pet forums to work out the most destructive breeds of all. The damaging dogs who leave our homes in ruins, through to the catastrophic cats leaving us frantically checking our home insurance policies. 

Dogs are more destructive than cats

Based on the number of people on pet forums lamenting their dog’s behavior, we’ve ranked the most calamity-causing canines. 

Sorry, dog lovers, but your four-legged best friend has caused more damage than any feline. Despite the tendency of cats to climb into what they should keep out of, and occasionally knock things over out of spite, the chaos they cause pales in comparison to that of dogs. 

The energy and excitability of dogs means they occasionally forget how big they are, crashing into things as they rush to show you how happy they are to see you. Cats, on the other hand, are like tiny gymnasts, and are far more laid back about expressions of emotion. 

The top 10 most destructive dog breeds

We delved deeper into the pet forums to decipher which dog breeds are the most destructive, causing all kinds of chaos throughout their owners' homes.

Loveable labs are the biggest home destroyers

One of the most-loved breeds around the world, the labrador has come out top of our naughty list for wreaking havoc in their owner’s home. With 6% of all mentions of various destruction centered around the breed on pet forums, it’s safe to say that their ‘butter wouldn't melt’ faces have deceived us all! 

In second place, and well known for their antics, is the beagle. Their amazing strength and huge amounts of energy have gotten them into a lot of trouble according to our research, with 5% of all mentions of household carnage including this breed.

Though some prangs may be a fact of life for pet owners, the costs don’t have to be. Finding the best home insurance policy for you could save you money and give you the peace of mind to let your perfect pooch have the free rein they deserve.

The things pets love to break

From looking all adorable curled up on your lap, to suddenly ripping up your brand new carpet, pets can decide to ruin your home at the flick of a switch. While they’re probably just doing it because they’re bored, and not because they’ve got some master plan to ruin the no claims discount on your home insurance, the things pets destroy can still end up costing a lot of money. 

Here are the things most likely to meet their maker at the paws of your pets. 

But don’t fret - there are ways to keep your home (relatively) pet friendly. Cats in particular love playing with anything dangly, making cables an obvious target. By using cable tidies and hiding them behind furniture, you’ll limit the temptation for cats to bat at them. 

Doors are often a victim of excitable scratching. By putting vertical scratching pads on them, you can give your pets a place to vent their feelings without ruining your decorations. A good selection of scratching posts will also keep cats’ claws busy. 

Carpets, meanwhile, can fall victim to many animal habits. For the messier ones, we’d recommend a good carpet cleaner to mop up any stains. If sharp claws are more of a concern, both cats and dogs can be trained to leave your carpets alone, so long as they have other options to play with. 

Generally, lots of playing and exercise with your pets will stop them playing havoc with your house, and save you having to make a claim on your home insurance. Remember, they’re only doing it because they love you. 

Destructive dog breeds and what they love to wreck

We took a look at what the most common form of destruction is for each breed, by matching their mentions on pet forums with each type of damage.

Keep your fragile ornaments away from blundering bull terriers

Staffordshire bull terriers are the clumsiest breakers of the breeds, with 1 in 20 mentions of broken phones, plant pots, glasses and more involving them. They’re a powerful breed with incredible muscles, meaning any excited indoor play could easily result in broken possessions. They love outdoor exercise though, and the more of that they get, the more tired they’ll be when you get them home. 

Labradors, however, prefer to destroy things in a much wetter way. They’re the most likely dog to confuse your furniture and carpet for their toilet, so consistent training is essential if you want to keep your home stain free. 

Coming home to a chewed skirting board or nibbled sofa is a common occurrence for collie owners, with the breed being mentioned the most for this type of damage. They also received the top mentions for the total destruction of property and the snapping of small household objects, like dustpans, dog bowls and mops. If you have a collie in your home, expect chaos!

In the garden, it's the shih tzu that will dig up your favourite flower bed to bury that bone, so gardeners beware! For food-lovers, it's the beagle that you need to watch out for. This breed will steal the food off your plate, tip over the bin for a rummage and ransack any cupboard in reach, with 1 in 15 mentions of food theft including their name.

If you compare home insurance, you can make sure your policy covers your pet’s particular habits – from secret scavenging to amateur gardening.

The things cats love to attack

Bengal cats might be beautiful, but their wee certainly isn’t. This breed tops the charts of destructive cats, mainly for their love of urinating in their owners’ homes. Cat pee has a smell that really sticks with you, especially when it’s in the middle of your floor. With 1 in 3 mentions of cats behaving badly linked to the Bengal, this is one sassy cat to look out for.

Ragdolls also enjoy their turn at wrecking things. They’re a very needy breed, and if you leave them alone for too long they may well take that neediness out on your belongings. 

Tabby cats come in third place. These cats crave exercise, and keeping them inside for too long could see your furniture fall victim to their pent-up aggression. By letting them roam and explore their surroundings, you can prevent the destruction of your home.

The most loved pets on the internet

It’s not all bad news for pet lovers. While they might occasionally scratch/chew/eat/wee on something important, they’ll more than make up for it in the love they show you. 

We analysed social media sentiment to see which pets were receiving the most heart eyes and laughing faces from posts about pets online.

Golden retrievers are the most loved pet on the internet!

The popular and adorable golden retriever is officially the most loved pet online, with an average of 222 ‘love’ reactions per online post around the breed, far ahead of the cocker spaniel in second place with 84 loves for every post. The golden retriever also received the most posts online, with 4.4 million in the last year alone. 

The sass and mischievous behaviour of the Bengal cat received the second-highest number of posts, with 2.4 million in the last year. Bengals have also earned the title of the funniest pet on the internet, with 17 laughing emojis per post. The clumsy and comical Great Dane took a close second place for the dogs with 16 reactions a post. Great Danes are also racking up the sad face emojis, with its puppy dog eyes gaining the sympathy vote online.

Labradoodles and their owners are getting into the most trouble with their energetic antics online, with the highest amount of angry reactions at 79 reactions for every post. 

The secret price of pet ownership

When buying a pet, there’s much more than the initial cost to think about. When you add the price of food, toys and pet insurance to the list, the price quickly adds up. 

On top of that, it's well worth thinking about the impact they’ll have on your home. If you compare home insurance, you should be able to find a policy that can cover the cost of accidental damage, letting you enjoy all the company your pet brings without having to worry about them wrecking your property. 

Methodology 

We collected over 20,000 posts from pet owners at petforums.co.uk, analysing each for mentions of specific breeds alongside descriptive words for damage, to figure out which breed was most frequently mentioned, and therefore, the most destructive. We then broke down the mentions of breed into specific types of damage, through mentions of key words like ‘chew’ and ‘wee’ alongside household objects, to reveal the breeds causing each type of damage. 

To identify the most loved pets on the internet we used social listening tool Buzzsumo to analyse the number of each type of reaction each breed received on all posts in the last year, and divided this by the number of posts about the breed, to get the average number of each type of reaction per social post.