Home Insurance - Sole or Joint names

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The buildings & contents insurance on my property is in my sole name. I own my property jointly with my spouse.

I am about to change my insurer provider and was wondering if I should put the new insurance in joint names?

I guess in the first instance that if the policy were in my sole name, then the insurers would not be able to discuss any aspects of the policy with my spouse [data protection].

Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, if the buildings & contents policy was in a sole name and the policyholder were say to be accidentally run over by a bus, what would happen to the insurance cover? I am guessing that with the policyholder deceased the cover would lapse.

Am I correct?

Any info or clarity much appreciated.

Cheers

TEDDYRUKSPIN

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The buildings & contents insurance on my property is in my sole name. I own my property jointly with my spouse.

I am about to change my insurer provider and was wondering if I should put the new insurance in joint names?

I guess in the first instance that if the policy were in my sole name, then the insurers would not be able to discuss any aspects of the policy with my spouse [data protection].

Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, if the buildings & contents policy was in a sole name and the policyholder were say to be accidentally run over by a bus, what would happen to the insurance cover? I am guessing that with the policyholder deceased the cover would lapse.

Am I correct?

Any info or clarity much appreciated.

Cheers

(1) what a strange thing about being run over and the cover lapsing? Strange. If you die, the house will either be taking back by the lender and sold on. Or will passed on to the person you want it to go to. Therefore, once this is done, the buildings and contents insurance would have to be changed in names. It will only lapse when you don't keep up repayments.

(2) I've always been funny about this but in general terms, the insurance is usually carried out by the person on the mortgage. Strangely some insurance companies require you to put the lender as the second name. Don't know why. To stop the confusion, your names as the sole person is enough. Basically, whoever is on the transfer deeds.

(3) Even if you put both names on the insurance, it will still be valid.

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Many thanks for your comments TEDDYRUKSPIN.

TEDDYRUKSPIN said:
(3) Even if you put both names on the insurance, it will still be valid.

Not sure I understand here since it seems to conflict with points 1 & 2, so did you mean "Even if you don't put both names on the insurance, it will still be valid"

Apologies for being slow on the uptake

Cheers

dacouch

To clarify, if you have a partner, wife etc it is best to have their name as a joint policyholder especially if they either jointly own / have a mortgage on the property.

This is because if you need to make a claim or adjust the policy they can speak to the Insurers. It also avoids delays if there is a claim which involves items they may own or jointly own with you. If you put in a claim and they are not jointly on the policy sometimes the Insurer can ask for proof they live at the home eg a bank statement etc. Having their name on the policy can save this causing a delay.

If they were not a joint policy holder and anything happened to you it can sometimes get complicated as the Insurer will often not speak to the partner if they are not on the policy. They will often request a copy (Or the original) of the death certificate and sometimes a letter from the executor before they will speak and / or add the partners name on. This is not the sort of thing a recently bereathed person likes dealing with. If they are on the policy as a joint name they can simply send a covering letter along with a copy of the death certificate and the name is deleted (It's generally best to ring first tom explain the situation).

The reason the mortgage companies name is often a second name on a policy is they insist on it (Not all do now) as if you have a mortgage they have an interest in the building. This alerts the Insurer so if there is a large claim they keep the mortgage company informed and also advise them if the policy is cancelled or lapses (As the mortgage company obviously want their to be continuous cover on the house that is security for the loan). The mortgage company have no interest in your contents so do not get involved in contents claims or worry if your contents lapses or is cancelled. Some mortgage companies did not insist on being a joint policyholder, they just requested they are noted as having an interest in the building (Again not all do this now days).

It's relatively easy to add your spouse, give your Insurers a ring and they will either do it over the phone or send a form out for you and her to sign (They will want to make sure they know if she has any claims or convictions etc etc)

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Many thanks for your reply and added clarity dacouch.

dacouch said:
To clarify, if you have a partner, wife etc it is best to have their name as a joint policyholder especially if they either jointly own / have a mortgage on the property.

She is on both. Will get on the case.

Cheers