Forced to change buildings insurance

Ian_W

Tommy,
A letter probably won't do it!
Be very clear - the co has bought your freehold TO MAKE MONEY out of you and your neighbours. Unlike a mortgage lender they won't be regulated by the FSA and required to act to act reasonably towards you.
If you click on the link to the Leasehold Advisory Service and scroll down the very long page to the bit I cut and pasted you'll see that you have to serve the landlord with a notice as described below:

[FONT=Verdana,arial,Helvetica]He may therefore arrange his own insurance, but must serve a Notice of Cover on the landlord no later than 14 days after having placed the insurance (or within 14 days of any request by the landlord). The notice must be in the prescribed form and must specify:
[/FONT]

• the name of the insurer;
• the risks covered by the policy;
• the amount and period of the cover;
• the address of the house insured;
• the registered office of the authorised insurer;
• the number of the insurance policy;
• the frequency that premiums are payable;
• the amount of any excess payable under the policy and what the excess applies to;
• whether the policy has been renewed (and the date);
• a statement that the leaseholder is satisfied that the policy covers their interests;
• a statement that the leaseholder has no reason to believe that the policy does not cover the interests of the landlord.

[FONT=Verdana,arial,Helvetica]The prescribed form and contents of the Notice of Cover are set out in SI 2004/3097 and 2005/177, in relation to England, and SI 2005/1534, in relation to Wales.[/FONT]

If you don't do that then the co can probably institute cover even though you've already got insurance and charge you for the insurance and their admin costs.
Contact the LAS for some advice, they can probably supply a pro-forma notice for you and your neighbours to fill in with your specific details.
EDIT to add: The LAS is an independent government funded body set-up to advise on leasehold issues and disputes. The advice is free to the public. Contact details HERE.