House insurance - probably a stupid question!

BexInLondon

Hi,

I am fully aware I should probably know the answer to this, but anyway...

Recently bought 25% of a shared ownership flat, with the remaining 75% rented from housing association (not interested in a debate about SO please ). Buildings insurance/ground rent is covered in the service charge we pay, but I don't yet have any other kind of insurance. I'm not majorly concerned about burglary (11th floor flat, not much worth stealing) but very concerned that my lodger, who is a good friend but a bit scatty, might flood the place or gouge accidental scratches in the floor etc. It would be good to cover my ipod and mobile while I'm out and about too as I live in a dodgy part of east London and it's miraculous I've never yet been mugged!

So my first question is, is contents insurance what I need? Any key things to bear in mind when getting it?

And secondly, while burglary isn't much of a concern now, it might become so. There is a security door downstairs but at the moment it is repeatedly being broken by vandals. If the door downstairs was broken and someone got in and burgled me, would insurance be void?

Thanks MSE people!

Kittian_the_Blue

Yes, it is contents insurance that you are after - go through you flat and work out the replacement value of the stuff that you own (including things like carpets and curtains etc) and then use that value as the sum insured - housing associations often have very cheap contents insurance policies available - I've seen reasonable levels of cover for as little as £25 p/a
In terms of security, you would only be required to keep secure the areas under your control - i.e your front door - as long as you comply with those security requirements you will be fine

BexInLondon

Thanks for your quick reply - I'll do as you suggest and value everything. Do I need to include things like fixtures and fittings (sinks, oven etc)?

Kittian_the_Blue

It depends on what is covered under the HA policy, but as a rule of thumb if you installed/own it then insure it (there are lots of caveats to this, but I think it's always better to have a little too much insured rather than not enough).

dogbot

Bex, just an idea; while your are undertaking your valuing why not do it on a spreadsheet (if you don't have MS Office you can get Openoffice for free that does the job) so that you have an easy to maintain schedule of your stuff. Not only that, but take digital photos of your stuff and store them with the spreadsheet on a secure webmail account.

This will provide you will a record of what you own so, should you be burgled, you have proof of ownership. Keep it up to date fairly regulalry and keep hold of receipts for larger items and you will be well protected.

Yes this is a horrificaly boring thing to do but if you do it now when you don't have too much stuff its easy to keep going.

Regards your iPod etc, to protect your posessions while you are out and about you need to purchase personal posessions cover, which is an optional section to most contents policies (a tiny number don't offer it and a few have some cover as standard).

Limits on the value of single items will vary policy to policy so make sure you "list" of "specify" any items above the limit. These become "specified items".

If you have a lodger you MUST declare this to the insurer. If you want protection for anything they do then make sure they have their own contents insurance that will come with some liability cover.

BexInLondon

Oh if only you knew how much joy I get from spreadsheets - I really am a loser. And that's a great idea, will make sure I log everything. would I need receipts for things like my ipod (bought over a year ago)?

Re the lodger - I'm not sure what to do there. She's moving out when I get married in the first week of September - do you think she'd be able to get cover for just a few months? What sort of cover would she go for? Do insurers cover people for just their own room?

And finally, when we do get married I hope (!) we'll get a few wedding presents. Can I add them to the insurance afterwards, e.g. in September? I'm not getting wedding insurance or anything like that as I'm no Bridezilla and don't really care what goes wrong on the day as long as at the end of it Tim and I are married!

dacouch

Most of the policies from the decent Insurers give you an automatic uplift of your sums insured around the time of your wedding to cover the cost of wedding presents. (Check with the companies you are getting quotes from if you want this cover, although if you get quotes with a sum insured that takes into account the wedding presents you won't need it).

If your getting married it may be worth getting personal possession cover (Cover for personal effects away from the home) as dogbot mentioned as this will cover your wedding ring and will cover your engagement ring etc (They normally require items indivudally valued in excess of £1500 to be specified).

If your fiance lives with you then add him as a joint policy holder, if he does not but will move in after you marry then add him as a joint policy holder then.

Don't forget to change your name over on the policy if its changing when you get married as it will save you a lot of time if you need to make a claim and you havn't changed your name over

dogbot

Your lodger can take out an annual policy now and transfer it when they move somewhere else (there is likley to be a charge for the adjustment), or cancel it and hopefully get a pro-rata refund less any cancelation charges that could apply. She could speak to someone like Endsleigh who obviously specialise in student cover, but that cover could be applicable for her as a lodger too.

You could add her as a joint policyholder to your own contents cover but this (and the fact you have a lodger at all) will probably limit the number of insurers willing to quote and drive up the premium. The advantage will come when she moves out and your husband moves in, since the risk and premium will drop dramaticaly.

Because of this fairly complex arrangement and the area you are living in, I would definatly suggest a chat with a good small broker to see what they could offer you.

Also, don't discount wedding insurance just yet, run a few quotes and see how much it will be - you may not think so now but it could provide valuable protection. You say all you want at the end of the day is to get married, which is certianly admirable given the huge sums many spend, but even a modest ceremony and party will be costing you a fair bit, and if something happens that means you can't get married on the day and have to re-schedule it can massivly increase your costs.

would I need receipts for things like my ipod (bought over a year ago)?

No, you just need to be able to prove you owned it. If you have the origional box and/or some photos of it that should be enough, similarly being able to show the purchase on a bank/credit card statement. Keeping receipts is a faf but just something that can be good to get into the habbit with for stuff like that, particulalry electicals that you might want to claim on the warrantee for!