Anyone living in a flat---question to help my son re contents insurance

gilly41

Hi
My 22 year old son is moving in to his first propery on Friday. He has been renting with mates up til now so he is very excited!!
He needs to get contents insurance but seen as he has been working 12 hour shifts for the past 9 days(ho hum to buy a widescreen TV!!!) he hasnt had time to ask or sort out his insurance.
Can i ask does he need just contents if living in a flat??? or buildings too???
He is going in tomorrow for his inspection with the builders so he will ask then but i was just going to get him some quotes.
Also, how much contents will he need. It is a 2 bed apartment

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very small and he only has basic stuff!!!
Thanks everyone x

zzzLazyDaisy

Normally there will be a monthly maintenance fee for the upkeep of common parts, which will also include the buildings insurance, so he would only need contents insurance. He should check this, but that would usually be the case.

gilly41

Hi
Thanks. Someone did mention that to me today so i texted him at work and he said yes he is paying X amount per month for maintenance. So the buildings is included in that?
Right, so he will just need contents. I best have a quick look on money supermarket.
Thanks x

cantcope

Have a look on quidco. I got contents insurance for my 1 bed flat on there. policy was approx £86 for the year and i got £80 cashback
My buildings insurance is included in my maintenance charge.

gilly41

Hi
Thanks i will go through quidco. How much do u think he will need cover wise? x

barnaby-bear

gilly41 wrote: »

Hi
Thanks i will go through quidco. How much do u think he will need cover wise? x

If it's been a rental flat before - consider using someone like Ensleigh who do 'walk in' thefts, or change the lock barrels, pretty standard for tenants to cut keys and use copies so if they lose them don't have to pay for replacements and if half a dozen previous tenants and/or their dodgy mates have stayed - these type of flats get quite a lot of burglaries with no apparent means of entry which can be a problem...

gilly41

Hi Barnaby
It is a brand new flat---so i think(hope) he should be ok with the keys! My ex, his dad is a joiner so he could change them but I dont think he will need to will he?
Thanks for your help though.
Any idea on amount of cover he will need?
Cheers x

madmalteaser

Is he buying or renting? My boyfriend owns his flat and he has both contents and buildings insurance, and also has to pay maintenance fees for the common areas. I presume if renting the landlord/owner should having buildings insurance anyway?

barnaby-bear

gilly41 wrote: »

Hi Barnaby
It is a brand new flat---so i think(hope) he should be ok with the keys! My ex, his dad is a joiner so he could change them but I dont think he will need to will he?
Thanks for your help though.
Any idea on amount of cover he will need?
Cheers x

May give some ideas....
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=937335

Hard to say if he has loads of electronic tat like young people seem to - should check out the single item limits (they can be mean on limits and number of expensive things) and keep his receipts....
My friends airhead sister set fire to their house with some aromatherapy candle rubbish and what was staggering was the cost of replacing all the smoke damage clothes and furnishings not just the things that get nicked... depends if he gets his clobber from Gucci or Primark I guess but imagine it burned down/was flooded with pooey-sewage and cover for that...

zzzLazyDaisy

madmalteaser wrote: »

Is he buying or renting? My boyfriend owns his flat and he has both contents and buildings insurance, and also has to pay maintenance fees for the common areas. I presume if renting the landlord/owner should having buildings insurance anyway?

I bought my flat, but the buildings insurance was still part of the maintenance charge. It was a new build.

madmalteaser

zzzLazyDaisy wrote: »

I bought my flat, but the buildings insurance was still part of the maintenance charge. It was a new build.

Interesting, just talking to the OH and he says the outside of the building and public areas are covered by maintenance charges but he is still required to have buildings insurance for the benefit of having a mortgage for anything internal, for example if his ceiling were to fall down he would have to claim on the insurance but if the outer wall fell down that would be covered by the maintenance company. His is a new build too.