Your annual property insurance premium may feel like money wasted each year but come the day when you need to make a claim you’ll know it’s been money well spent. In most cases, making a claim is uncomplicated and the best property insurance companies will settle quickly and without quibbling.
With regard to home property insurance premiums, the insurance sector has become increasingly competitive. This works in favour of the homeowner because prices are now keener as companies vie for your business.
Understanding the type of cover you need is the first obvious step. Here are some of the usual areas for which property insurance is available:
• Accidental Damage Cover – for example, storm damage
• Alternative Accommodation Cover – in the event that you might need to vacate your property
• Buildings and Contents Insurance
• Buy-to-let properties
• Holiday Home Insurance
• Home Emergency Cover
• Homes abroad
• Personal Possessions Cover
• Second Home Insurance
• Valuables Insurance – for example, fine art and furniture
Insurance expert John Brady, Head of Commercial at John Lewis Insurance, says: ‘Home insurance is designed to protect both the buildings and contents of your home. During the winter, cold conditions and harsh weather can cause a lot of problems. That’s why it’s reassuring to know that if something does go wrong in your home, John Lewis Home Insurance provides cover for loss or damage caused by storms, fire, flood, subsidence, theft or other specified causes.’
Special cases
For property owners with non-standard or quirky designed properties, or perhaps you have a thatched-roof property, here there’s a greater chance of a higher property insurance premium. Specialist home insurance can be harder to source and sometime the terms are more difficult to understand, so here are a few top tips to help owners of more unusual properties where risks may be considered higher, such as locations at risk of flooding.
Flooding concerns
If you live in a high-risk flood area, you’ll need property insurance that gives you peace of mind. You will need a policy that covers both your property and its contents. Choosing a policy that offers alternative accommodation, should your property become uninhabitable, is also advisable. After all, in a worst-case scenario it could be months before your own property has dried out and is rehabitable. Claiming for the refurbishment work is one thing, but your accommodation bill could be equally steep (see Alternative Accommodation Cover. Listed above).
Escape to the country
Owners of thatched properties should be aware that this unique construction necessitates specialist home insurance. Also bear in mind that the additional level of roof maintenance required is not covered by insurance policies as the natural deterioration of thatch is considered as wear and tear rather than actual damage.
In a thatched cottage, risk calculation is a detailed process that includes everything from the depth of thatch to the distance to the closest fire station. Property insurers have to be as exact as possible in order to give you the lowest price possible based on your risk.
Cover for listed buildings
If you are the owner of a listed building, or even a building that is old (100 years plus) listed building insurance cover is important, as the small print of many regular policies may not cover what you need.
With older properties it’s very difficult to predict what could go wrong. However, being officially listed makes risk assessment doubly hard because repair work, often on non-standard constructions, must be in keeping with the original aesthetic. This suggests that materials, labour and the time it takes to fix can all increase. For this reason, make sure your building survey is accurate and the rebuild cost is kept up-to-date each time you renew your policy.
Grand designs
Custom-built properties are becoming increasingly popular in the UK, particularly with a number of new government initiatives in place to boost the projects of ambitious self-builders. However, if you have been lucky enough to bring your own ‘grand design’ to life, you need a home insurance policy that covers all the quirks of your property—whether it is a fabulous eco home or a steel-framed architectural masterpiece.
A standard home property insurance will almost certainly contain small print clauses that exclude non-standard features. For anything out of the ordinary, you will need to have your risk calculated based on specialist parts and labour, as well as the usual considerations such as location, crime rates, etc.
However non-standard your non-standard home may be, it’s important that you have the protection designed for your property. Paying money for a policy which excludes any of your risks will only give the insurance company grounds to refuse to pay out on a claim; even if it’s unrelated to the reason you needed specialist home insurance in the first place.
Remember!
• If the flood risk, subsidence risk, etc., is too great and property insurance companies are refusing to give covert, another option might be to have that particular risk written out of the policy. This requires a specialist insurer and should only be a last resort, but in some cases it might be the only option.
• Before you seek property insurance cover make sure you have all relevant documentation to hand and a full survey so that your property’s requirements can be fully understood.
